Seduction and Surrender
by mandymld
Summary: Elizabeth is the virgin wife of Sonny Corinthos, caught between keeping her late husband's dark secrets and the mystery man she meets at a party. After a night of passion, she learn she is pregnant by the one man she thinks she has reason to loath.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, this is a little different for me, I usually stick to alternate history, but this is completely AU. Actually I wrote it the same time I wrote the original version of Dear---. It's a short story, well for me a short story in that there are only 3 chapters.

Jason walked down the staircase to where Emily Quartermaine was standing with her fiance, Nicolas Cassadine. The Prince was combining his engagement party with a charity ball for the new community center to be built down by the run down docks to help the less fortunate.

The Morgan group had their own plans for the land and they didn't include a community center, more like shops and expensive townhouses and condominiums. He was here to let the owner of the land know that there were other options than giving that particular white elephant away.

His second in command didn't want to tell his boss how unlikely it was that Elizabeth Corinthos would sell to him, he would need to see it for himself. Stepping over he said "She hasn't been seen yet."

"I thought she was close to the Quartermaine girl?" he asked his brows furrowing at the delay; he didn't want to be here any longer than he had to. He had already seen Carly Spencer Quartermaine and Samantha Jacks were circling. He didn't want to have to give them the set down they both deserved, mainly because their husbands were business acquaintances of his.

"She is, she is also the person in charge of the fundraiser but I overheard Prince Cassadine's brother whining about how she isn't here yet. Lucky is already marking his territory hoping to be husband number two." Added Francis. "I think you are making a mistake, she is stubborn, at least according to Cassadine."

Jason walked to the parapet smirking as he looked across the harbor to the docks that would soon be his. Corinthos had been dead for almost a year, his widow had disappeared during that time, to where, no one knew but all were certain of one thing, the gold digger would be looking for her next meal ticket. Rumor was that Corinthos had left her only a modest income with very secret rules attached to it.

He walked to the corner after he heard the two women entering the hallway. "So has she had the nerve to show up yet?"

Carly snorted and said "Not yet, but can you imagine… according to Leo Julian, Sonny Corinthos heart gave away during sex. And you and I both know that that man had had way better than the ice princess, hell he had the two of us."

"More than once and at the same time. The things that man could do with his fingers…" said Sam salivating in remembrance. "Oh well, maybe she killed him with drugs or something... Either way, doesn't matter she didn't win in the end. All she got was a trust fund doled out by his attorney and we both know how my mother feels about the situation."

With giggles, they walked down the hallway to return to the party knowing their husbands were both away and they could have some fun. Jason heard the sound of sobbing and walked back inside.

He stopped, shocked at the beautiful young woman who stood there wiping her tears. "Oh, I am sorry; I didn't know anyone was up here."

Handing her his handkerchief, he said "Are you okay?"

With a sad wistful smile, she said "Do you know what nothing feels like?"

Thinking on how he had felt when he had learned the truth about his parentage, how he had felt when he had lost his mother and said "Yes."

Walking back to the parapet she leaned over and said "I live there, have for a very long time. But the one thing I always thought I had my dignity. Now, now I don't even have that. My entire life is fodder for the gossip magazines, for vapid tramps to whisper and laugh over."

Hearing the antique clock in the hall ringing ten o'clock, she gave him a quick smile then went to the nearest bathroom unaware he was following her in until she heard his gasp. "I know; I look a mess."

Jason swallowed his shock as the incredibly beautiful woman tried to repair her makeup. Lifting a washcloth, he turned the tap on and damped one corner. Then he gently wiped away the mascara that was trailing down her check and stepped back to say "perfect."

"No one is perfect." She said dryly then with a fast thanks she quickly returned to the ballroom where she stood off to the side, unnoticed while Jason followed his pending business deal long forgotten.

They all clapped as Nicolas and Emily danced then at the end, the Cassadine heir gave the announcement they had all been waiting for. "I am proud to announce that we have raised almost four million dollars tonight in honor of the new Harborview Community Center. Elizabeth, I will turn the spotlight over to you, you have earned it."

Jason looked around, trying to find the woman who had married a man old enough to be her father when she was barely seventeen years old. He was astounded to see the woman he had met earlier, the woman he had been planning on asking to go to his cabin with him for a week of fun, sun and sex thanking the annoying Greek.

"Thank you, Nicolas, I would like to thank Emily and you for your generosity in hosting this event." She said with a soft smile at her friend. She might not think Emily was making the right move marrying the man with the wandering hands but her friend truly believed she could change him. And after her marriage, she had no right to judge anyone.

Elizabeth didn't get a chance to say anything more as Lucky Spencer moved in and eased her out of the spotlight. She wanted to protest but his father and half brother were two of the biggest donors to the project. With a weak smile, she listened as he went on and on about how he was sorry for her loss and would be more than willing to take over her worries.

With a well hidden groan, she realized that once again the rumor mill was running amok with stories about her so called poverty. Stiffening when she started to pay attention and got what he was saying she pulled her hand back and donation or no donation, let the sleazy cretin have it with both barrels. "…I mean my father was partners with your late husband and everyone knows you have Gucci tastes and Walmart money."

"There is no chance in this lifetime I would ever, get that EVER take you up on that offer." She said coldly glaring at him.

Backing away his hands held up in supposition, he said "Hey, I get it, I am only a millionaire, and your taste tends to run to more expensive things. But you might want to let the idea go, Jasper Jacks is married and as my cousin has found out, AJ Quartermaine comes with lots and lots of strings, so you might want to settle before you end up waiting tables down at the diner my family owns if you keep looking for your new husband here."

"You are an ass, Spencer." Said the husky voice behind the annoying prick. Elizabeth looked up and smiled at the man who had told Lucky Spencer what she only dreamed of saying. When Jason saw her grateful smile, he wanted to offer her the world but instead just asked her to dance.

Both were shocked when she quickly said yes. As the band played some unknown ballad from the thirties, neither saw the eyes narrow and the conversations being held behind cupped hands. As Port Charles society watched, Jason Morgan quickly felt himself falling under the spell of a pair of magnificent blue eyes and plump lips perfect for passion.

Francis moved closer to the couple listening to the vicious gossip mixed in with a few who felt the dancing couple looked incredible together.

Sam: "He is dancing; the bastard claimed he didn't dance when I went out with him after that charity auction, I paid good money for that night, too. Now he is dancing with the bitch?"

Carly: "You don't have anything he wants, she does. Rumor is he wants to build down by the waterfront."

Sam: "True, I mean if she didn't hold Sonny's attention, we both know she doesn't stand a chance with Morgan."

With a nasty laugh, Carly said "True, should we tell her or let her find out on her own?"

Lucky: "Who let that bastard in?"

Nik: "Emily invited him; you know how softhearted she is."

Lucky: You should get your wife under control I mean, Jason Morgan? I mean you know the story about how he burnt down his mother's house to get her insurance money. He should be in jail but we all know that Alan Quartermaine bribed Mac Scorpio to keep it quiet so as to keep being that thug's parentage quiet."

Nik, shuddering: "Thank god, Emily is adopted."

Monica and Alan watched silently as Alan's son danced and seemed enchanted with Elizabeth Webber. Monica grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight; both had many regrets but had agreed years ago to let Susan raise Jason. Now the little boy who had meant so much to both of them didn't acknowledge his family, in fact he had gone out of his way to erase all the connections them away.

They both couldn't help wondering why he was so interested in Elizabeth, if it had been the day before they would have understood then Monica looked on and asked "Do you think he doesn't know she already transferred ownership of the docks to the city."

Elizabeth turned down Emily's offer of a room and wearily walked down to the dock her way lit by Nik's ancient butler. When a hand rose to help her into the boat, Elizabeth gratefully took it, knowing that if she stayed she would endure a sleepless night. Nik might not have been Luke Spencer's biological son, but he had the aging playboy's nasty tendency to think that all women wanted him.

Settling into the cabin below, she was just about to close her eyes when she felt someone sit down next to her. Opening her eyes, she saw the man who was going to be invading her dreams for many nights to come. "Do you ever intend to tell me your name?"

With a slow smile, he said "How about at breakfast tomorrow morning, I will bring the tray in, you will lay naked in my rumpled sheets, our passions slaked from a nighttime spent loving each other until we ache from it."

Elizabeth felt her insides clutch and almost wished she was free to take him up on his offer but she had secrets, ones that she swore to protect. Whatever else he had been, Sonny Corinthos had been a good man, at least to her and she owed it to him to finish his last dream before she moved on.

With a regretful smile, she looked at him and then leaning in kissed his check. "While that sounds wonderful, no thank you."

A shiver went through her at the heated look in his eyes as he softly said "Let me try and change your mind, I promise you won't regret it."

The captain of the shuttle let them know he had docked and Jason helped Elizabeth wrap her arms in the small piece of silk she was calling a cover as he held her hand while they walked up the steps to the boardwalk. "Thank you and good night."

Jason saw she was determined and he had no intention of walking away without at least a kiss. Pulling her closer, he said "I have you in my arms, convince me to let you go."

Elizabeth felt a weakness, the desire she had read about for years was slowly seeping into her body, making her body feel like she was swimming in molasses as she saw his head dip lower before he pressed his lips to her while wrapping his hands in her hair.

The kiss deepened as Jason eased his tongue between her lips exploring the warm moist heat and unknowingly shocking Elizabeth as need, stark need drove her to wrap her arms around him and for her to forget her promise.

"Come home with me." Was the demand as Jason pulled back; Elizabeth saw the wild and heated tinge of his eyes and knew she should say no but found herself instead say "No, my studio, it is right up the docks."

Docilely following her, Jason was now able to understand why Corinthos a renown playboy; had married Elizabeth as young as he had and for years had been faithful to her. It was only in the last year before his death the man had cheated on his wife. Rumors were that she had miscarried and had refused to allow him back into her bed.

Arriving at the studio, Jason tossed his suit jacket on the easel and turned to her. Looking at her with the light reflecting in through the large window that made it the perfect art studio, he stepped closer and kissed her.

Elizabeth felt her head spin; her heart race and her insides melt at just his kiss and knew that she shouldn't be doing this. However her heart was telling her to trust it while her body just demanded she spend the night loving this man.

Attentively she returned his kiss, not sure what to do as he ravished her lips with his own then as he added his teeth and his tongue to the kissing games, Elizabeth started to return each hungry kiss with a startling need all her own.

She was shocked to suddenly feel air on her breasts as her lovely party dress fell to the ground at her feet leaving her standing there in her panties and thin high silk stockings. Jason's hand cupped her breasts and gently massaged them, shocked at how responsive she was when Elizabeth cried out from the pressure.

Sitting on the convenient stool, Jason bend his head and pulled her closer before licking her skin, then gently giving her a light love bit, needing to mark her as his. Seeing the want and need swirling in her eyes, he gave her a faint boyish grin before saying. "These are made for this."

Before she could gather her scattered brain cells and asked what he was talking about, Jason had pulled her nipple into his mouth and was suckling it. As he alternated between the two lovely pointed tips, his hands were sliding lower and easing her panties down.

Elizabeth held onto his head more to keep his wonderfully attentive mouth where it was then for stability as she stepped out of the panties. His hands spanned the width of her small waist before his head tipped back and gave each pelvis bone a quick kiss saying "I can't wait to lie in a bed and feast on you."

He saw the slight shock in her eyes and put it down to his bluntness, maybe Corinthos really had been all pretty words with her. Looking at her, he couldn't imagine the man cheating on this, even if he had to wait years, if she was his he would never have walked away from this woman. She was the sort men searched the earth, she was the lost city of Atlantis, the Holy Grail and the Lost city all wrapped up in one incredibly soft package.

Elizabeth saw his eyes on her and blushed then felt uncertain, maybe he didn't want her like she…

Jason lifted her and carried her to the double bed with the white cotton sheets and placed her in the center with her legs on either side of him as he knelt there looking at the sight she was. As he mentally listed all the ways he intended to have her this night and for many, many nights into their hopefully long future, Jason removed his pants and kicked them behind him.

His lips were mere inches from her when he stuck his tongue out and gave her very wet slit a quick lick. He gave a grin as her hips rose in response to his little tease. "No, I want to feast, but later after this… hunger has been abated a bit."

Elizabeth was a bit confused; she knew that there was more to loving than what she had experienced, but this, this hunger, this need to be possessed, surely this wasn't what all the poets had written about for ages.

Jason eased back up so that they were hip to hip, breast to chest, stopping to kiss the wonderful handful in front of his mouth, Jason listened as she moaned then easing his hand between them, he sighed as he once again felt how wet with want she was.

Rising up, he couldn't wait any longer and from the way she was eagerly raising her hips and moaning, neither could she. Kissing the wonderful lips, he looked her in the eyes to see if she was as involved as he was before placing his tip in position. He saw her eyes widen with something, something he couldn't decipher just before he thrust inside and froze.

Looking up, he saw the pleading in her eyes to continue, to not question her and Jason found it hard not to give in, then she squirmed and he felt a sense of possessiveness. A need to conquer and to claim even as he found himself asked "How?"

Elizabeth cloaked her eyes afraid what he might see in them as she said "Please don't stop, I need you, and I need this."

His control was slowly slipping away and Jason was shaking as he pulled back only for her to wrap her arms and legs around him and beg "Please? Please make me feel that way again?"

What little control he had snapped as he eased back inside of her, a place no man had ever been before. Pressing her deep into the bed, he whispered "Are you sure? Once we do this, everything, and I mean everything changes."

"Yes." She barely was heard before he pulled back and thrust in, marking her as his. Dipping his head back down, he pulled her back into a kiss, ruthlessly and shamelessly taking control of her body and her responses until he lost track of where she ended and he began.

When he heard her breath start to gasp and felt her insides start to turn him into molten liquid instead of the steel he had been as he took her virginity, Jason vowed then and there no one; no man would ever possess her except him as he sent her over the edge and quickly followed.

As he came, he swore then gave a quick smile as he realized he could use this to his advantage, if she was pregnant a girl like this, would never do as his mother did and go it alone. But to be sure "Are you on the pill?"

Looking up at him in shock, she said "No, why would I…" She could feel the sticky mess that confirmed her worst fears that he hadn't used a condom. Her mind raced as she realized her house of cards could come tumbling down if she was pregnant or if Jason breathed a word of this to anyone before the center opened. "The center…"

"How is this possible?"

"I am not going to reveal my secrets to you." She cried out when he had grabbed her arm. Needing to get away, she stood and quickly went to her bathroom and seeing the blood and other liquids quickly cleaned herself before pulling her clothes back on.

When she saw the run in her stockings, she blushed as she realized they had never removed the soft silky leggings. "I will find out the answers to my questions."

Turning she looked at him, and then walked over. Reaching for his hands she plead with him, "Please, for my sake, please don't."

"Then tell me why?" he asked. "Why did you marry a man that old if you weren't his lover? He left you with nothing after being married for ten years. I know the gossip, I know there was no pre-nup, which you could have successfully sued the estate for your rightful share, yet you didn't."

When she ignored him, going to stand by the window, Jason saw the tears, the look in her eyes looked like fear but what was she afraid of. "Why did Sonny Corinthos marry you?"

Standing at the window, Elizabeth decided to give him that, "He was protecting me, being kind."

Jason snorted; Sonny Corinthos didn't have a kind bone in his body. The man was a former gangster made good, who had gone legit on the backs of others. Why would he have been kind to a young woman without expecting anything in return? For god's sake, the man had in the beginning prostituted out his strippers from his nightclub, though that had been covered up rather well years ago.

The only reason he knew about it was his friend Karen had found the truth years ago. Looking at Elizabeth, he had to know, he had to know why Sonny would have done that. Elizabeth saw the questions in his eyes and said "My father… my father and he were old friends. My mother had died years ago giving birth to me. Sonny was a distant friend my dad would see while I was at boarding school and summer camp. When my father's company was stolen, I was adrift, my aunt was going to take me in, but she was not someone you wanted as a mother."

In fact she had been a patient for years in a mental institution; her father had made it clear Elizabeth was not to stay with her but the courts had over ridden the papers emancipating Elizabeth. The marriage to Sonny had been their only way to protect her.

The fact that her father had committed suicide after being accused of stealing from his business partners causing the company to fail had more than likely influenced their decisions. It was why Elizabeth swore that some day, someday she would prove that Jason Morgan had gone out of his way to set up and destroy her father's name and company.

If it wasn't for Sonny, she would have ended up dead, more than likely.

Jason wracked his brain; he didn't recall the name Webber as any of Sonny's former friends. "So why did you stay married to him?"

"He was good to me and he needed my help." Was all she said, Jason who had studied Corinthos for years; knew he had to dig even deeper if he wanted the answers to his questions. And he had to find out the truth before he went any further with Elizabeth. "What, what is your name?"

Seeing her embarrassed expression, Jason felt a frisson of something but put it down to feeling guilty about not telling her before and knowing she had to know he was after the waterfront property. "Jason."

She gave a wry grin then said "Jason what?" while wishing things had happened differently as she tried to figure out how quickly she could wrap up her promises to Sonny. That all changed when she heard his answer. "Could you please repeat that?"

"Jason Morgan. Look, I didn't plan this, I am--" Elizabeth slapped him across the face and screamed at him to "GET OUT!!! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!"

"Look, you are overreacting." He said as he touched his face where she had slapped him. "I am going to buy the land that the Quart—"

"I DON'T CARE!" she shouted as she opened the door while he was still getting dressed. "YOU BASTARD, YOU GET OUT OF HERE, HAVEN'T YOU DON'T ENOUGH, HAVEN'T YOU HURT ME ENOUGH? WHAT WAS THIS? PITY SEX FOR DESTROYING MY FAMILY, FOR FORCING ME…"

Jason watched as she slid down the wall, and then crumpled into a ball on the floor while screaming for him to leave. "Fine, I will go for now, but I am not walking away. I will be back."

Walking into the hallway, Jason quickly called his computer geek and said "I want everything you can find on Elizabeth Webber, I mean everything from her birth to her attending preschool then on to her marriage to Sonny Corinthos and I want it yesterday."

Before the geek could answer, Jason hung up and walked to the parking lot where his patient chauffeur was waiting. "Home."

Elizabeth sobbed until she had no more tears, no more anything as she realized there were worse things than feeling nothing. There was self hatred and revulsion. She had given her virginity to the man who had destroyed her family, the man who had cost her everything. The man who had been responsible for the nightmare her life had become.

Her body ached from the tears as well as what had happened earlier as she went to her small closet here and changed into sweats and sneakers. Packing a bag, she made a quick call and was promised everything would be taken care of went to the home that she had shared with Sonny. Grabbing a couple of items from the safe with a quick trip to the middle of nowhere, she took one last look at the city that had sheltered her for the past ten years and left for New York.

There she made a quick trip across the river and after a visit to Bensonhurst went straight to JFK airport and was on a jet to her hidey hole knowing she could never return.

Eight months later, the geek walked into Jason's office and said "I found her."

The hard man sitting at the desk looked up and said "Where?"

"In Italy, she is staying at a Villa that her mother's family owns." He said with a grin.

"Don't be so happy with yourself, it took you eight months." He snapped as he left to go to the private bathroom. When the geek followed, Jason just glared.

"There is more." He said rather excitedly. "She is coming here, to Port Charles."

Jason looked up sharply and said "What?"

"She sold the villa, she is returning. She bought a house out the cliff roads. There is an interior designer there even as we speak." Jason felt a sense of relief that maybe just maybe she had chosen to fight for herself in regards to Sonny's will.

It was part of the reason he had paid as much as he had for the rest of the waterfront property minus the piece that was to become her community center. He now knew the truth behind her marriage to Sonny and Jason felt sick on her behalf.

He even understood the need for secrecy but at the same time, every time he heard someone making a comment about her or the community center, Jason wanted to tell them, when he heard Carly, Sam and their newest playmate Courtney Cassadine going on and on about how she couldn't hold her husband he wanted to tell them the truth. Just to see their faces and then when they protested he was a liar; give them the proof.

Courtney was a particularly sore spot for him. Emily and he might not be close but she was still someone he was protective of. When the blond had interrupted Emily's wedding to announce she was pregnant with that bastard Cassadine's kid, he had wanted to kick the bastards' ass but the smug grin on the blonde's face had made him want to prove her for the liar she was.

Emily had been humiliated; she had forgone attendants since Elizabeth hadn't been available so she had been standing there in the middle of the church aisle, begging Nik to tell her it wasn't possible, that the blond couldn't be two months pregnant six months after they had become engaged.

Instead he had shrugged and told her it was a possibility. That he had used a condom but it had broken during sex. The heartbroken expression on her face would stay with Jason for a long time, especially when he had realized that Carly and Sam were high fiving each other when they left the church.

AJ refused to see the truth about his wife; instead he had insisted that Jason was just jealous that he had all that the illegitimate bastard son of father wanted. Jason had walked away, knowing that AJ would never believe him if he told him he loathed the tramp AJ was married to, that he thought Michael, his son was a spoiled brat and he had no idea, no one did that he was richer than all of the Quartermaines together.

He had seen the gruesome threesome at the country club with the new doctor and was well aware they had spent the night in the penthouse suite at the hotel together with the playboy.

Leaving his office, Jason walked down to the construction site, where his teams were preparing to break ground on his latest project just as they were crowning his high rise condo building. Hearing his name being called, he greeted Emily who looked a bit better than she had recently. "Jason, can you help me with something?"

"Sure." He said while taking out his phone. "What do you need?"

"Put that away." She said laughing. "I am working with some of the older kids at the community center; I was hoping you would come down and do that lame how I got where I am thing."

Seeing his expression, she said "Please, for me?"

Arriving that afternoon, Jason looked at the paintings and knew. "Is this your friend Elizabeth's work?"

Surprised she asked "How did you know Elizabeth painted, no one knows that. I don't even think Sonny knew that."

Looking at his sister, he said "That's right; you knew them when they were together."

When Emily shut down, he said "Can we have dinner; there is something I need to tell you."

"As long as you aren't another one of those people who insist on asking me questions about Elizabeth. She is my friend and I refuse to be a gossip." She warned.

Elizabeth lumbered around the villa, telling the movers which painting to pack then went to see Isadora. "Are you ready?"

Nodding, she said "Are you sure about this?"

"It's time. I have finished everything and I am not going to spend the rest of my life protecting their secrets anymore." She said coldly. "I only kept them for the sake of their children, well now I have a child on the way, and my own child takes precedence."

"They are not going to be happy." Warned the nanny as she hugged her former charge as they looked around the estate and then Isadora said "I am glad you are finally living for you, it about time, my little one."

Looking down at her large belly, Elizabeth had a grin on her face as she said "Don't you think I am a little big for you to be calling me that?"

"You can be as big as a house and you would still be my little one." She said before they walked down to the car. Looking back, Elizabeth said "I needed this, I needed to heal."

Jason was waiting impatiently; he had been truthful with his-Emily a month before, telling her about his feelings for Elizabeth. How he had been involved in proving that Elizabeth's father had been swindling his business partners. How he had slept with her friend, he however hadn't told her about Elizabeth's being a virgin or how he hadn't used protection.

She had been shocked then excited before telling to him that Elizabeth had been distant since the ball and how the only time they had talked had been after aborted wedding. Emily had admitted that Elizabeth hadn't tried to talk her out of marrying Nik but hadn't been enthusiastic in regards to the marriage.

Hearing feminine footsteps, Jason turned then wished he hadn't. Sam McCall Jacks was standing there talking to her mother who seemed agitated. When the older woman had left, Jason wasn't surprised to see the two blonds showing up. "What is going on?"

"Who knows who cares?" asked Sam. "My mother is doing another one of her freak outs, usually those only happen when Elizabeth Corinthos is around."

"God, you don't suppose the gold digger is coming back?" asked an appalled Courtney. "Lucky has the hots for her, it bad enough having to deal with him being around, if she is in town, he is going to want Nik to invite her to dinner."

"Why would he, Elizabeth was one of Emily's charity projects." Scorned Sam. "Let's go to Jake's, see who is there."

"Can't, Nik is having me followed. Seems he doesn't believe my miscarriage story." She said rolling her eyes while Carly sighed and added. "Plus Edward is demanding we are there for a family dinner. He gets this way when Jason Morgan ends up on the news."

"Too bad you married AJ, Jason Morgan is the brother I would want." Drooled Courtney while Sam just kept walking.

"No, Morgan has money but absolutely no social contacts." Said Carly. "He is rich but the Quartermaines ignore him so the rest of society does as well. And cross him off the list for your next hubby, rumor is he is getting ready to go on a trip."

"What kind of trip?" she asked. "I would love to travel the world. Spain, especially."

"Nope, more like third world countries where he is building buildings." Sneered Carly. "Besides, in spite of being filthy rich he lives in the same house he did as a kid. You know the one Alan bought his mother while she was his mistress."

"I thought he burnt it down?" she asked only for them to explain that was the house his mother had bought with her blackmail money.

"Oh, well that is rather tacky." Said the woman wearing the mini skirt and tight shirt with six inch heel ankle boots.

Elizabeth was avoiding Emily, she had an appointment with Kelly Lee when she saw Nik dragging in a blond and demanding to see the doctor. "Nik."

Nik turned and said "Elizabeth, hello. I don't mean to be rude but I need to take care of this right now."

The blond was fighting him and Elizabeth was amused to see that Nik had his hands full while following the doctor into her office. Getting the all clear she said "Thank you for the recommendation last year."

"I am glad it worked out." She said then added. "I am always happy to help someone become a mother. I was a bit worried about you using the sperm bank but I gather it worked out for you."

Leaving GH, she felt guilty for what she had done, but while she was ready to deal with the poison pills that lived in this town, she was not ready to deal with Jason Morgan at least not for another week and she was sure that he wouldn't care anyhow. She would just have him sign away his parental rights in exchange for promising to never ask for child support.

"Elizabeth!" she turned and was enthusiastically hugged by her friend. "I have been looking all over for you."

Hugging her back, Elizabeth said "I wasn't sure… there are a few things I need to tell you."

"I have a lot to tell you." She said. "You should know my brother is rather interested in you."

A bit shaken, Elizabeth said "I thought AJ was married to that harpy Carly."

"No, my other brother." She said with a laugh.

"I didn't know you had another brother." She said looking at Emily who said "Alan had a kid with another woman."

"Wow." Said Elizabeth. "I had no idea."

"Well, have dinner with me tonight, I will tell you everything." Said Emily.

"How about at my place, I have something I need to tell and show you."

"So you said, Elizabeth you look like… well like you expect me to hate you."

Hugging her as she left, Elizabeth gave her a sad smile as she went to her next appointment at the Metrocourt. Seeing Jasper Jacks, she greeted the Aussie, she felt bad for the man married to Sam McCall. "I have a meeting with Alexis."

"At least that explains why she has been so tense." Said Jax escorting her up. Leaving her outside, he said "Good lucky. My mother-in-law is a pill."

With a chuckle, Elizabeth wanted to tell him she had no worries, not any more. Either Alexis did what she wanted or Elizabeth would release all she knew.

Entering she saw the two women waiting for her. "Ladies."

Sitting down she said "I am done protecting secrets. No more. You should know I am back in town for one reason only. My son."

"So you did the IVF treatments, where did you get the money?" snapped Alexis as she tried to recall if Sonny had ever mentioned having his sperm taken. She was not going to let Elizabeth and her child ruin Kristina's life, no way in hell.

Olivia was having the same thoughts so both were surprised when Elizabeth said "No, my child isn't Sonny's. Relax, I am not after the money, you should know that I did file a request to remove you as executor Alexis and you will sign it unless you want your husband to find out his eldest daughter isn't his."

"How dare you?" she whispered. "You have no right, after all you married Sonny for his money."

"Actually, I didn't." she said coolly then looking at Olivia and then Alexis she said "You both were told the truth, and you should know I am no longer keeping Sonny's secrets. So if Trevor Lansing wants to out them, he can."

"You can't do that, do you have any idea what that would do to my son, to the community center." Said Olivia.

"Yes, I do and frankly, I could care less. The community center was to help the working poor, instead I just heard you have fees for everything, that you turn down requests for assistance. What do you think you are doing Alexis?"

"I want my children to have a safe place to go and if those other kids come, it won't be."

"That wasn't what Sonny set this place up for and you know it." She argued.

"Sonny is dead and good riddance." She snapped. "He used me, he used Olivia, he gets no sympathy from me."

"What a hypocrite you are, or did you forget Sonny was married to me when you were sleeping with him." Said Elizabeth then she added. "Alexis, I am back, my child deserves to know where his family is from and I am not going to leave to protect Sonny's dirty secrets."

"What about Dante and Kristina?" asked Olivia in fear. "Lansing knows about them too."

"Well the kids don't, you might want to prepare them for the truth, and while you are at it, Alexis, I would let your husband know he isn't Kristina's father, before your father in law does. I am done being blackmailed." She said leaving with a quiet dignity as the two women looked at one another.

"Can't you force her to leave, you have control of her trust fund."

"Not if she convinces a judge to change that." Said Alexis as she realized what should have been a simple will two years ago had gotten ugly when she had read the secret codicil. "Plus, she hadn't touched the money in the trust since Sonny's death."

Olivia got up and left, heading to her office. Seeing Jax there, she said "What can you tell me about Elizabeth Corinthos?"

"Nothing my mother in law doesn't know." He said then looking at her added. "Alexis is not someone you should befriend without knowing a few truths, years ago, she made a mistake one involving Luke Spencer and even now years later she is paying for it. Don't get caught up in her drama."

Jax went into his office where his daughter was sleeping. She was almost three and very rarely saw her mother who would rather cat around with anything that would screw her. He would divorce her but it might cost him is little girl, so they each lived separate lives as he tried to track down someone from her past, he wanted his freedom and needed her in jail for that to happen.

Elizabeth was walking through the park when she saw Jason. Stopping suddenly, she felt her heart race as she tried to find away around him without getting caught. She had to talk to him, tell him about their child but right now, she had to get settled, had to slowly deal with the rest of the truths that needed to come out.

"Elizabeth?"

Turning she blurted out "What are you doing here?"

"Here? You mean the park?" Looking at her, he said I often come it the park my mother and I would come here when I was a little boy."

Elizabeth felt her ability to breath stop. "Wait, you are from here?"

"Yes, why?" he asked as he gently led her to the hotel "Why are you so shocked, I thought everyone knew?"

A bit shaky, she sat down and said "Not me, I wonder why I never saw you before."

Because Corinthos would have kept her far away from him, thought Jason. He would have pieced the truth together years ago, how the older man had sent him after her father's company because Sonny was a selfish man who after the company was destroyed, felt guilty and married Elizabeth.

He couldn't help wondering the why Elizabeth would marry her father's lover, why she would keep his secrets for so long. "Come with me, please?"

Following him up the stairs, Elizabeth felt like a lamb to the slaughter but she couldn't resist his eyes, couldn't resist the father of her child. She had spent part of the time away in therapy, learning and coming to accept that her father's bad choices were what led to what had happened.

Once in his suite, she felt the pressure to tell him but couldn't bring herself to speak. She had told herself she had forgotten what he looked like, smelt like, tasted like... yet standing here, she forced herself to admit the truth, she would never forget him and if she tried, looking into the face of her newborn son would remind her. Jake was a miniature version of his father.

"Elizabeth?" Jason saw the way she was staring blindly out the window, and couldn't help wanting to know what was on her mind. What had brought her back, and why she was still imprinted on his brain in a way that no one, not even his lost mother ever was.

"Huh?" she asked turning then blushed when she saw how close he was. "I am sorry, my mind was elsewhere."

The words tumbled out of his mouth, and he found it impossible to stop them. "You are so beautiful."

"I still loath you." she said coldly. "What do you want Mr. Morgan?"

She heard his quiet laugh and trembled as she got the feeling that he saw right through her disdain to what she was trying so desperately to hide. The way he looked at her...

She saw the door and knew, she knew she had to get out of there... He was looking at her liked he wanted to possess her, mark her territory of Jason Morgan, do not trespass. Trembling, she said her voice catching. "I uh, I have to go."

Rushing to the elevator then worried he might chase after her, Elizabeth hurried down the stairs, needing to get away, needing to clear her head before her needy heart led her to believe things that were not true.

Arriving in the lobby, she reminded herself of all the reasons she had kept her son a secret, all the reasons she had resisted the urge to let Jason know he was going to be a father. She reminded herself that no father was better than having a cold-hearted SOB like Morgan as a father.

If he found out the truth, what might he do? She kept trying to figure that out, would he walk away like the ruthless man he was or would he see his-NO her son as the heir he would need without all the hassle of marriage?

Would he be a distant father or would he demand time with his child, introducing him to the constant parade of bimbos that the press reported as being in and out of his life like the days of the week?

Rushing home, she saw the decorator making the last finishing touches and writing him a check said "Thank you, Elton. I appreciate your discretion."

The man kissed her on the cheek and said "Honey, some day you are going to have to arrange a lovely little or maybe not so little dinner party and lets these Payton Place hypocrites have it head on."

"Just not this week, Elton." she said humoring the man who had been well aware of her late husbands hidden secrets.

Hearing her cell phone, she answered only to hear Emily asked "I am on call this evening, would you mind terribly if we had dinner at the restaurant?"

Sighing, because for Emily there was only one restaurant, one that would be full of the very people Elizabeth didn't want to meet just yet. But she knew that it had be even harder on Emily, dealing with a town full of people who knew her fiancee had slept with another woman who might have faked being pregnant to trap him into marriage.

"Yes, when?" she asked then decided to make sure that if she was going into the belly of the beast she was dressed well for the tasty morsel of gossip they would be feeding on for days afterwords.

Sam saw her husband entering the restaurant and rolled her eyes when she saw his expression, turning to Carly she said "Looks like you aren't the only one in trouble with hubby. Mine is being all self-righteous again. God, I squeezed out the brat like he wanted, what more does he expect?"

Carly just giggled as she poured herself another glass of the bubbly. AJ had had the nerve to try and order that she get some sort of job today, like she was ever going to work again, why the hell did he think she married him?

"I wonder where Courtney is?" asked Sam idly then saw the blond coming off the elevator with a thunderous expression. "What is it?"

Tossing down her clutch and reaching to tug up the bodice on her slowly sliding dress she said "You are not going to believe this one. That bitch, Kelly Lee okay-ed me for sex again, chubby hubby had the balls to say that from now on, until I am pregnant again, I have to stay home and play house wife. Now what do I do?"

Grimacing, at least Jax was handsome, thought Sam not that they had had sex since their daughter was born. "Well, can you fake it again? Or you know, get preggers with someone else's kid?"

Shuddering, Courtney whined. "I am going to try, but geez, I mean he wants to have sex regularly. I can't stand the thought of those wet lips even close to me. He is all hands and I mean you should hear the grunting. Why did you two get to marry the cute ones?"

Sam was getting herself another glass when she saw her husband smile softly at someone. "Oh no, you don't bitch." Standing she walked over to where Jax was speaking to Emily Quartermaine and said "You lost yours, stay the hell away from my husband."

Emily flushed then was about to walk away when she heard. "Why don't you just raise your leg and pee on your territory like the bitch you are, Sam?"

Emily laughed as Jason got off elevator and approached. "Jason, are you free for dinner?"

"Sorry, Emily. I have a meeting with Luke Spencer." he said regretting telling her that when she seemed to shut down. "It should be quick, if you want to get together later?"

"It's just I am having some company that you would enjoy." she said kissing his cheek and then hearing Carly's dulcet tones as she commented on Jason being there.

Jason looked at the blond and said "Jax, if your wife's friends can't hold a civil tongue, I am going to have to rethink this partnership and maybe sell my shares of the hotel to the Zachara group."

Carly shut up, she was well aware that would have her out on her rear, Quartermaine heir or not since they were the old man's biggest rivals. Jax looked at his wife and said "Money stops if he does, so I would take your little coterie and sit down."

Jax went back to his office, again vainly trying to get something from his private investigator besides bills. "Look again, there has to be something."

Alvarez looked at his partner and then thought about the night they had spent with the three woman at Jake's and said "Sir, it will be a waste of your money, she is clean."

David Harper took out the file they had on each of the women and said "How much are we going to ask them for?"

"I say fifty grand each, to start." he replied. "Do we let them know what we found or just use the pictures from Jake's?"

Meanwhile Emily was feeling a bit like a fish out of water, when she heard the silence hit the room then everyone talk at once. Turning, she saw her friend standing there, looking more beautiful and sweet than ever in a soft green sheath of a cocktail dress with modest heels and her hair pulled back.

She saw the green eyes and faces of the gruesome trio and couldn't help hoping that Jason was watching as well. When they had hugged and greeted one another, Elizabeth sat down and said "I have missed you so much."

A half hour, as they were eating their salads, Elizabeth took a deep breath and said "I took your advice, on Kelly Lee."

Her eyes widening, she said "You... a baby?"

"Yes, I have a little boy." she said proudly. "Emily, he is just the sweetest, most patient little pumpkin you have ever seen."

Emily squealed and hugged her friend getting the attention of the men leaving the private dining room. Luke Spencer was unhappy that Jason wouldn't work with him, saying that as long as Lucky was part of the deal, there was no deal.

Lucky was just sulking and Nik was pissed off to see his wife there when he had ordered her to stay on the Island. Jason however, saw Spencer, Jr's eyes narrowing as he maliciously said "My, the trash has returned. I heard she had a kid while gone, too."

Luke quickly pushed his son onto the elevator before Morgan could find out what the ineffective moron was talking about. He turned when he heard Cassadine's voice carrying across the room as he dragged his wife by the arm out.

Elizabeth felt a sense of awareness, a feeling of foreboding. Emily reached over and asked. "Elizabeth, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just feel a little dizzy." she said weakly. "I just need some air, I will be right back, okay?"

"Wait, I will go with you." she said only for Elizabeth to say "No, I just need a moment, alone, okay?"

But she was only halfway onto the stone terrace when she heard footsteps, Taking deep breaths, she tried to calm down, worried she was going to have a panic attack, she tried to figure out the reason when she heard. "Are you okay? Do you need some help?"

"It's none of your business, please, just go away?" she asked the man she now realized was the cause of her anxiety.

Jason felt his heart racing as the warm night enclosed them, all sense of caution, all sense of reason was slowly slipping away as he moved closer to the woman who possessed him, body, mind and soul.

Unable to help himself, he reached out and kissed her, plundering her lips with his desire, his need to mark her his and his alone. He could feel each bone in her body, as the need to flee seemed to be warring with the very obvious need for him that seemed to emit from her body.

"Tell me you didn't miss me, didn't miss this? That you don't want me as much as I want you?" he asked hoarsely as he pulled her into a desperately hungry kiss. The more she tried to resist, the more seductive and drugging the kisses got, until the passion and need over whelmed them.

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him with all of her pent up longing and anger until she lost track of where he ended and she began, whispering to him during one of the moments they had stopped kissing to breath. "I hate you, I hate every single thing about you."

"I am tired of wanting what I can't have..." she said before pulling his lips back to hers, knowing that the rough stubble on his chin was going to mark her and not even caring at the moment.

"I have spent the last year, fighting this, until there is no fight left." he breathed as he kissed his way down her throat and growled frustrated by the silk covering her skin. Then with a wicked grin, he fell to his knees and eased his hands up her naked thighs, touching the soft skin that he had found.

"Jason... what are..." Her voice hitched when she felt his fingertips against her now wet panties before his hands retreated to ease up her skirt so that he could gently kiss her exposed thighs. His hands molded themselves to her, stroking her, cupping the silk where it was now growing wetter.

Elizabeth looked down just as she felt his evening stubble on her thigh, her legs almost giving way when she saw him kissing her right where she needed it most. Before she could protest, he pulled down the silk and placed them in his pocket, then ran his fingers on the newly bared skin, gently stroking her, watching her face in the moonlight as she closed her eyes to the sensations he was sure she was experiencing for the first time.

Just when she was getting her strength back, he moved his head up and took his first taste of her. "You... we can be..."

"No we can't." he said his head coming back only far enough so she could hear him as his warm breath aroused her already needy body. Lifting her leg over his shoulder, Jason took a long deep taste before easing back to see if the face matched the moaning then spreading her wide with his fingers, lapped at her again and again as her head tilted back.

He kept up the teasing for a few minutes before moving his attention north to the small nub above. Teasing her, leaving her begging for release, he pulled back and admired his handiwork before gently biting her sensitive spot and thrusting his finger inside, then adding another finger when he saw she was about to come.

"Tell me your mine," he growled "Tell me..."

She called out no even as her body shouted yes as her body took the pleasure he was offering. Sobbing as she came down from the high he had created in her, she tried to ignore the way she couldn't seem to control her own body around this man.

As she regained her senses, she couldn't help it, she couldn't help asking in a broken tone. "Why?"

"Because, we belong together." he said as he held her for a minute then stepped back to say. "And your body already knows it, someday soon, you will come to realize that I am not going away."

Hearing her name, she said "That's Emily, my friend, I have to go."

Seeing her holding out her hand, he said "No, these will remain with me."

"Jason, please, I can't..." she saw his face. "You ruthless bastard, you really expect me to walk out there in front of most of Port Charles without my underwear?"

Closing her eyes, loathing herself for the way she still wanted him, still found herself … no, she wasn't going to go there. Not in this lifetime, not after what he had done to her dad.

"Elizabeth, one more thing for you to think about... next time we do this, we are going to stay in my and hopefully by then our bed for days and days." The heat and promise in his voice made her insides clench as she went back inside.

Thankfully most of the guests had already left for the night as she rejoined Emily who hid her smile when she saw Elizabeth followed by Jason. Maybe her brother and friend would find their way to one another, obviously there was passion if they slept together before.

Just one more thing to do to help that move further along. Her brother was a sucker for babies, in spite of never having any of his own. He would be the perfect man, he wouldn't care who the father of Elizabeth's baby was, he would love him as his own, no matter what.

Jason waited until he saw Emily heading to the rest room from his perch at the bar, he had left Elizabeth and her alone while they finished dinner, his hand in the pocket of his suit jacket where her pale green silk panties now resided.

Walking over, she said "Why won't you leave me alone?"

"I have everything a man could want, yet there is something missing, something I didn't realize I was missing until you came into my life..." he said then added. "I have one dream left to fulfill... one empty spot left... you, you are my dream."

Her eyes begged him to leave her alone but he just looked at her and said "I am not going away and there is nothing you can do to convince me that you aren't the one for me."

Looking at her, he said "If I hadn't taken your father's company, your life would have been so different, so much better and I am sorry for that... but I can't regret meeting you, falling for you..."

Her heart breaking as she came to realize that it was now or never, she had to tell him about their son her world stopped when she heard Emily's question behind her.... "Oh my god, Elizabeth... I just realized I forgot to ask, your little boy... what is his name?"

Jason froze then remembered their night together, and asked "How old?"

"What?" Emily asked then heard Elizabeth's answer like she was talking with marbles in her mouth. "One month, Jake is one month old."

"Excuse us, Emily." he said grabbing her hand and pulling her to the elevator as his heart stopped then started beating as he put together dates. Once the door had closed in his sister's face, he turned to her and hissed. "Where you ever going to tell me about my son?"

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed. This is so much harder to write than my regular stuff because I have to move things around a lot. I am glad you are enjoying the story. And I know people were worried when you read Elizabeth was married to Sonny, but please, would I really let that happen where they had sex. MB is not someone I like seeing in romantic scenes.

Chapter 2

As Elizabeth and Jason went down the elevator, she felt her mind race as she tried to think what to do, but knew that no matter what, she was not losing her son. Not for anything or anyone. Meanwhile Jason's own mind was going between anger and pain as he led her to his car and tersely asked for directions.

Jason's mind went back to the day he realized that he wanted more, much more than a fling with Elizabeth, the day he had decided he wanted a lifelong commitment to the woman he had spent so brief a time with...then to his son before thoughts about his own childhood reared their ugly head.

He had never thought to marry, his biological father's numerous affairs notorious in their small town as well as the rumors about his mother. Not that Susan had been a saint, she hadn't been. But she had been there, through it all for him.

He would never forget the day he went to visit with his father, the names his brother had called him, the names his supposed aunt had thrown about. He had been five and had gone home and said he wasn't going back there, EVER as he held back the tears.

His mother had tried to reason with him, until he had shouted at her all that had happened and how he had been called a bastard. She had sat down, then called Monica, telling the woman in a very calm tone that Jason would not be returning to that horrid house and nothing would change that, that there was no amount of money in this world that would get her to send her child back to where deliberate and malicious harm had been inflicted on him.

She had gone to court, dealt with accusations of feeding him lies, been repeatedly labeled a bad mother, until the day the judge had been in the hospital and had overheard AJ and his pals circling a six year old Jason and calling him a bastard and saying the sort of cruel things boys would to someone they perceived as weaker than them.

The court case had gone away, the Quartermaine bitter at losing contact with Alan's son, Edward even going so far as to try and get the head of GH, Steve Hardy to fire Susan. It hadn't worked, the doctor had stood by his nurse. Jason would see them, at his school events, but they never approached him again.

All contact had been cut off, with money being deposited into an account for his welfare but no cards, no presents and most importantly no more publicity.

He had thought Elizabeth was different than the Quartermaines, that in spite of everything she didn't judge him for his beginnings but now learning the truth, that he had a son and she had kept him from him was hardening his heart, causing him to shut down even as they drove to her house, the silence in the car deafening.

Elizabeth went between trembling in terror at how Jason was reacting to Jake and trembling and trying not to cry as she finally admitted to herself that she was in love with this man. But the little voice in the back of her mind just kept saying. "Do you think he will love you, now that he knows the truth, don't delude yourself, you know who and what he is, he is going to hate you, blame you for this. For a child he didn't want."

As they drove, Jason came to a decision. He would force her to marry him, threaten to take their child away if it became necessary, but he had no intention of allowing his own child to be raised the way he had been. As he tried to rationalize it, all that came to mind was this.

He would have her, in his home, in his bed, he would have a child, someone to love. Someone who would love him and not betray him and his son's mother would stay, because whatever else, Jason believed that Elizabeth loved her son.

When they arrived at her house, Elizabeth quietly unlocked the door and announced to Isadora that she had brought home a guest.

Jason gave an angry snort, she thought she was going to hide this, hell no. Walking to the woman in front of him, he said "Hello, are you my son's nanny?"

Taken back, she said "I am little Jake's nanny, like I was for his mother before him."

Nodding, he said "I would like to meet my son, Elizabeth."

She had come to realize in those few moments what she had done, the damage she had caused this man as she saw him looking at the photos on the mantle. She could see the pain but more importantly the way he looked at Jake like he was the be all end all of his existence.

Had she kept the secret to protect her child or had she done so to protect herself... to avoid facing things all those months ago. She had vowed to hate Jason Morgan for the rest of her life, Sonny had egged on that hate while alive but she should have let it go the minute she found out about the baby... maybe she had, maybe she was just now coming to face that some part of her felt guilty, like she was betraying her family by falling in love with this man, this man who had given her the most precious gift of her life. Jake.

"Elizabeth, I am waiting." he said wanting to shake her as she stared at the photos he had been looking at only moments before. Reaching for her hand after the nanny had left, he guided them up the stairs stopping to say "Which way?"

Numb, all Elizabeth could do was point. Jason didn't let go, he didn't trust her not to find a way to keep him from his child, his child. That was going to take some getting used to.

Lifting the little boy who had woken up the minute they entered the room, Jason felt his heart soften when he saw Elizabeth in their son.

Sitting down in the rocker, he eased it so that he could rock his son back to sleep. Laying him down in the crib, he looked at Elizabeth and felt torn by two different urges. One to make her pay for what she had denied him, denied them both and the urge to hug her and say all would be fine.

Because all wouldn't be fine, at least not until he had tied her to him as many ways as possible. He was not losing his family again but he would not beg. He would have her asking him to marry her, he would never let himself be that vulnerable, not after this.

"You and I are moving in together. We are going to be raising this little boy as a family."

"No, Jason, please?" she asked her mind racing as she tried to find a way to fulfill her plan and marrying Jason would blow that. "I can't marry you."

"I don't recall asking you to marry me." he said evenly. "And you will live with me, you will sleep in my bed and we will be just like every other normal married couple or I will take you to court, I will do whatever it takes to be a full time father to my son."

Elizabeth watched as his eyes went to the sleeping child and saw the tears and felt sick at what she had stolen thinking he wouldn't want to be part of. "Jason, please think about this, think about what this is going to do to Jake."

"It's very simple, Elizabeth." he said "You have two choices, live with me and our son or live without both of us."

"Jason, I can't." she said her voice breaking not realizing her refusals were only fueling the fire, the need to win her. "I can't do this, not unmarried. I won't."

"Fine, I will agree to marriage, with conditions." he said. "We live as man and wife, no birth control, and if you leave, the children stay with me."

Broken, she looked at him and said "Why are you doing this to me?"

"What is your answer? Yes or No?" he asked holding his breath until she slowly nodded yes. "Fine, then I want you ready tomorrow morning at nine. Do you understand me."

Shaking, she said "Yes."

"And Elizabeth, if you run away... know one thing, it will be a very bad mistake." he said before kissing his son on the head then taking his leave. In the car, he made some plans and was taken home.

Once at the only place he felt safe, Jason let it all out. His anger, his disappointment that the woman he loved, the woman he had put above all others had done this. Had kept this from him. Falling asleep as he made plans for their future, he swore, that by Christmas things would be different.

The next morning, Elizabeth was in her living room with Isadora and some strange looking geek as witnesses marrying Jason. When he slid the ring on her finger then gave her a very functionary kiss, she wanted to cry for what she felt like she was losing. Somehow, something inside of her knew that this was wrong.

Jason was holding his son as Francis made arranged help for the nanny to supervise the moving of what was needed. "We will be at the hospital."

Seeing Elizabeth's expression he coldly said "There is someone I want to meet Jake."

As he watched his son, he could see traces of himself besides his eyes and yet he could see Elizabeth in their little boy. Looking across at her, it took everything in him, all his self control not to tell her how beautiful she looked.

As they stepped onto the geriatric ward, Jason looked at his son then Elizabeth before saying. "Stay out here, please."

Elizabeth was holding a sleeping Jake as he slipped into the room. "Mrs. Hardy, Audrey... it's Jason."

"Oh, my sweet, sweet boy, how are you?" asked the frail woman in the bed. She looked at his eyes and said "Oh dear, I have seen that look before."

His eyes went to the tiled floor as she reached out with her wrinkled fingers and said "She came back, didn't she? I told you to give her time."

"She hurt me." he said hoarsely. "We have a child, a son, but she didn't tell me, she wasn't going to tell me."

Audrey listened to his story, her brows crinkling a bit then said at the end. "Jason, I think you are wrong. I think your past is influencing your emotions. Have you asked her? Asked if she was going to tell you?"

His hands shaking as he moved to the window, he said "I can't, I love her too much, if she lies... I will know it and that...."

"Would kill you, but what if she was going to tell you? How would you have reacted to finding out this late?" she asked gently. "Jason, this love you speak about, it comes with other necessary parts, and a major part of those is trust and respect. You need to tell her the truth about what happened in Colorado, and you need to trust her with your heart."

"I'm scared." he said. "I... I don't think I am someone people can love, other than my mother, no one ever has."

"That young man is a lie and you know it. I love you and if you would ever have a conversation..."

"Audrey, thank you, but that isn't going to happen." he said firmly. The Quartermaines were a sore subject and he had no intention of going there even with her. "And I love you too."

"Where is she? Your Elizabeth?" she questioned.

Jason tensed then said "I left Jake and her, outside. I will be right back."

Meanwhile outside in the hall, a blond woman Elizabeth knew as Emily's mother had seen her and approached. "Oh, Elizabeth, how nice to see you."

"You too, Dr. Quartermaine." she said with a smile. Seeing her look at Jake with a curious expression, she said "and this is Jake, my son."

"Oh, then you went through with the treatments." she said a bit surprised. She had always thought that Elizabeth was more traditional than that.

"No." she gave a quick laugh. "I had him in a slightly less unconventional way. I met a guy, fell in love, left town, gave birth, came back and before I could tell him he found out, was angry then married me. Completely in the normal range for Port Charles."

"Oh, I am so happy for you, for you both, well all three of you." she said grinning at the still sleeping baby. "I know we have never discussed it, but I knew the truth about your marriage. I let it go because of my love for you, for your mother. I just never understood why she never divorced your father after finding out the truth."

Elizabeth felt dizzy, was seeing black spots as she looked at the cardiologist. "My dad had an affair?"

Jason walked out and saw how pale Elizabeth was and quickly encircled her in his arms before turning to speak to the blond who had turned white herself as she realized Elizabeth didn't know. "Stay away from my wife and my son. You and your family, minus Emily are not welcome any where near us. Do you understand me, Dr. Quartermaine?"

Now it was Monica's turn to sway as she looked between Elizabeth and Jason then down at the little boy in her arms. Before she could say anything, Jason had taken them into the room and with a glare at her closed the door in her face.

"Mom, are you okay?" asked AJ as he came down the hall. Lifting her up, he called for help then heard what she was saying. "Mom, who is married, who is a father?"

Monica looked at her son, and shut down just as Alan rushed into the room where they had brought her. Telling AJ she would be fine, she was finding it hard not to snap at the reason Alan and she had lost the little boy she had loved the instant she met him. AJ saw the way his parents closed ranks and would have guessed it was about that bastard Jason, but for the words marriage and kids. His brother would never find a woman desperate enough to marry him.

Jason had soon introduced Elizabeth and Jake to Audrey who looked exhausted by the end of their half hour visit. Kissing her forehead and promising to return, Jason was escorting his family out when he saw Alan by the elevator. "Stay here."

"I am not a dog, stop treating me like one." she snapped. Jason was upset then thought back to their conversations that day and gave a quiet chuckle in spite of what was waiting on the other side of the room. Reaching out, he lifted her head and said "I am sorry, I didn't mean it that way."

"Well it sounded like you were saying stay rover, good dog." she said. Jason couldn't help himself, bending down he pressed his lips against hers and said "I won't do it ever again, unless talking to Spinelli."

"What is a Spinelli, wait maybe I don't want to know.." she said before pointing to the wait area, "I will be there when you are done with whatever you need to do."

Jason sighed then said "No, I guess you have to start to hear about this soon."

Alan started to speak but Jason held up his hand, "I don't know how much Emily or Elizabeth unknowingly told you, but here is all you need to know. Yes, I am married and we have a son. He is wrapped up in this blanket, take a good look, this is as close as you and anyone with Quartermaine blood will ever get to him."

Elizabeth looked between then wondering about the tone and why Jason would talk to Emily's father like that. She kept quiet, certain she was missing something, something important when Edward came off the elevator they were waiting on. "Alan, what are you doing talking to that waste of Quartermaine blood? He is a---"

Elizabeth had never liked Emily's grandfather, and while she was grateful for the information he had imparted to her, she wasn't going to stand for the comments. "Mr. Quartermaine, if you can't keep a civil tongue while talking about my husband, I will be sure to let Ms. Lila know when I drop off her painting."

Blinking, Edward looked befuddled for a minute then said "Oh, it's you, you sweet child, you don't know what is going on here, this degenerate is my son's mistake."

Walking on to the elevator she looked at Edward and said "No, it is you who don't know what is going on, Jason is my husband, and this is our son. And when Lila doesn't get her picture, be sure to let her know that I won't stand for you talking about my family that way."

"But Elizabeth, Lars and Helene would want me to warn you, you have no idea..."

The iciness in her eyes caused Edward to back away once again feeling like the struggling young man he had been when trying to court the lovely and aristocratic Lila Morgan. He sighed as the door closed, then said "It's such a shame, I had hoped she would marry your son when he finally matured. The idea of Lar's granddaughter, marrying into our family..."

Alan looked at his father and shaking his head walked away without pointing out, that Elizabeth HAD married into the family. Returning to his wife, he held her and said "Edward showed up."

Bursting into tears, Monica said "Why can't he just leave it alone?"

Neither wanted to think of the real reason, that Edward resented Jason for standing on his own two feet, for being a maverick, unlike AJ or Tracy's son Ned who found bitterly for any crumb of compliment from the old man.

Alexis was reading the papers the court had dropped off when her husband entered the room. With a sigh, she looked at Ric and said "We have to talk."

"I can't, I am late for court. Something to do with Corinthos." he said annoyed. "The man died almost two years ago, why can't he stay out of our lives. After the way he chased after you... then made you executor of his will. Shameless."

"Ric, wait, we have to talk." she said as she went after him. "It's about why you are going to court."

Turning, he said "Corinthos? What of it?"

Swallowing her fear, she said "Please, sit down."

She was feeling weak when she sat down opposite the man she loved, the man who for some inexplicable reason had moved out of their home almost four months ago. The man who wouldn't be coming back when he heard what she had to say. Another reason to loath that woman, why couldn't she stay away and let things be?"

"Alexis, what is it? Is this about my new apartment in the Morgan building. I know you don't like him, but frankly, I don't give a crap." he said thinking that hopefully she didn't know about Claire yet.

"No, it's about Kristina." she said "And Sam."

"What has that tramp you call a daughter been doing, we had a deal, Alexis, she stays far away from her sisters." he warned thinking about the night he had been drugged and had woken up the next morning with a sex tape on his bed.

Him with the wife of Nik Cassadine and AJ Quartermaine. Either would have been enough to destroy his career in politics, but both of them, and what had happened that night, no one would care he was not in his right mind.

"I need to tell you something." she said choking on the words. "When Sam came to town, she uh, she was in some serious trouble, the kind that needs serious money to get out of. I didn't have the money, and I would never ask you for it. But she needed help. Anyhow, it was right about when Sonny was hanging around."

"How does this involve our daughter?" he asked looking at the photo of the eleven year old in her school uniform.

"I told you I needed money, Sonny made me a deal. In exchange for bailing Sam out of trouble, he needed a favor. A big one." she said shivering. "And while we were in New York taking care of it, I slept with him."

Ric shook his head, to get rid of the thoughts that were now consuming him. "What did you say?"

"I slept with Sonny, I am so sorry Ric, but he is Kristina's father and that bitch Elizabeth is forcing me to tell you the truth or I have to sign the papers to relieve myself as controlling her trust."

Ric just stared blindly at the fireplace, her words floating over him. "So if you agreed to release her trust, she would have kept quiet, I would have never learned the truth?" he asked in disbelief. "Then why not sign the papers? Why not let me keep believing that Kristina was mine?"

"I won't let her win. I can't." she said then saw his face as he looked at her.

"You loved the bastard, I remember when she came to town, how shocked we all were at how young she was but you... you oh my god, you were jealous, you wanted him and god, Alexis, what was I? Second best. You let me marry you, thinking we were having a child together."

"There is more." she said the tears flowing. "She is threatening to tell that Sonny did something else..."

"What?" he asked. "Is he Molly's father as well?"

"No, god no. I promise you, I was faithful to you." she said then confessed. "The money that I gave you, the money for your campaign, it came from him."

Ric fell to his knees and said "Please tell me that my election, my entire career as DA wasn't funded by the man whose past was … god, Alexis. You take away my daughter, my career and..."

"I didn't do it, she did." she said fiercely only for Ric to say "No, she didn't. You should have never lied, my god... this is why my father hates you, hates your daughter. How did you get him to keep quiet?"

"I didn't." she said."

Alexis looked at him and said "I did go to Sonny, he laughed at me and said that I had done all he wanted, he had obtained what he wanted from me and that I couldn't even do that right. He wanted a son."

Ric walked to the door and then looking at her said "I was hoping to deal with this over the weekend, but I filed for divorce. And I am not ending our marriage because of what happened here or twelve years ago. I am ending it..." with a bitter chuckle he said "I am ending it because your daughter created a sex tape where she drugged me and let those two bisexual bitches she calls friends use me. I found out five months ago, I have an STD, Alexis. I had to give the health department a list of names. My career was f-ed, either way, but now, thanks to you and what you told me... I guess it really doesn't matter. Oh, and Claire Walsh..."

"What about her?" she asked wondering what the ADA had to do with anything.

"She is pregnant, it's mine." he said leaving her sitting there numb until she had come up with a plan. Calling Luke she said "You owe me."

"What do you want darlin?" drawled out the man leaning back in his chair smoking a cigar.

"I want you to destroy Elizabeth Corinthos, I want her decimated." she said shrilly.

"No can do, the Cowboy wants her for his wife, even has the perfect way to convince her to marry him." he said then hanging up said to Lucky. "You might just get Lucky, she will go to someone else after me, let Alexis ruin her, then you can sweep in as her hero."

Elizabeth was wondering where they were going as Jason just seemed to drive, then they were out in the middle of nowhere. She knew this spot, this place. She had often come out here while painting. The melancholy estate with the burnt out house and statues in the yard called to her on a primitive level. "Jason?"

"Alan, is my sperm donor." he said levelly. "He found out about me while my mother was pregnant but reunited with Monica and told my mother to get rid of me. Wrote her a check for an abortion. I found it after my mother's death. The memo line... the memo line said for medical procedure."

Elizabeth sat quietly trying to reconcile this with the man who had always been so kind to her.

"Mom went away to have me, to a friend of hers, a former nurse. When I was about four she came back, her cousin had died and she had to attend the funeral. The Quartermaines showed up. I was just a kid, you know. There was this lady, she smelt nice, was in a wheelchair." he said his voice catching for a minute.

"She asked me my name, I still remember standing there proudly announcing "Jason, Jason Morgan Moore. Then the gasps, the looks and then the shouting. My Mom was trying to get to me and this woman, with dark hair was there, swearing and saying she didn't hold up her end of the deal."

His mind was in the past as he said "I didn't understand, but the nice lady had picked me up when I was crying and was wiping my tears. There was this little boy there, he came over and said "Get away from my grandmother. She is mine, she loves only me."

"Then there was a man, he came over and was so nice as he removed me from her lap, I remember smiling at him." he said his voice practically gone. "He turned to her and said "Lila, my love, it looks like we have another grandchild. I was so lonely, I thought, wow, I have grandparents, I didn't even know what the word meant but I was so certain it would be good things."

"Then a man in a dark uniform rolled her away and the man I was grinning at looked at me and said for me to stay away from his wife, that I was an wanted bastard who should have never lived. That I was a mistake. Something that should have died. Then he put me down and I fell, I remember cutting my knee and not feeling it, I was so sure that something was wrong."

"My mom came over and I was hearing words like slut, whore and gold digger." he said. "I was sure they weren't talking about MY mother, not the woman who loved me. I didn't see them again for almost a year but I knew my mom was crying herself to sleep a lot. Then one day, Mom took me to this store, it was a thrift shop and bought me this outfit. It was a little big but she said I would grow into it that it was good material. That she had a surprise for me that day. That I was going to be meeting my family."

"I could see she was trying too hard but I didn't want to disappoint her. She took me home and gave me a bubble bath, anyhow, she dressed me in this outfit and a car pulled up in the driveway. I was put in the backseat and I remember asking if she was coming along. The man in the uniform closed the door before she could answer and then getting in drove down the road. He pulled to the side and said he was told to tell me the rules."

"The rules." he said bitterly. "I was not to touch anything, I was to address everyone as Mister or Mrs. No talking to the other kids there, I was not to play with the toys unless invited to. I was to tell no one who my mother was. I was not to speak unless spoken to."

"We pulled back onto the road and went up to the house I could see from mine. I remember being excited to be visiting it. It was pretty from the distance, with all the flowers. The door opened and I was ordered inside and told to stop looking around. Inside I could hear people shouting."

"They were talking about me. Then this boy came up, the one from the funeral and he pulled my hair. Then his own and went in and said I had pulled his first. I was sat on the stairs for two hours, told not to move. Then this boy came in, he was friends with AJ. He looked at my outfit, then said that I was wearing the clothes his mom had given to the thrift store. That he could tell by the arm, where his mom Laura had sown them using red thread."

Elizabeth felt her heart ache as he kept talking. "It got worse as the day went on, then Alan showed up with his wife, asked why I was on the stairs. When I told him, the maid said I was lying. Monica, sat down next to me and asked me why I would lie?"

"I refused to say another word, just demanded to be taken home. They said no, that it was time for dinner and we went in to eat. Alan and Monica were trying but I didn't like the food, and refused to do more than try it. I spit out the soup and the woman I now know as Tracy said my mother should teach me some manners. I had had it and snapped too bad her mother hadn't taught her some and that it was wrong to lie and swear."

"I got up and when Alan said to sit down that we don't leave the table without being excused, I said too bad. And went back to the stairs." he stopped talking then told her about what happened after that.

"The only other time before today that I ever spoke to Alan was the day I graduated high school. He tried to give me money for college. I ripped the check up and threw it in his face. Told him to go home to his new child. Emily was a kid, they had just adopted her. I would see them with her, see how they treated her, loved her and it hurt."

Wiping the tears he was unaware were falling, he said "Emily, though, she refused to leave me alone once she knew about me. She just stuck around until I talked to her. We aren't close, I won't allow it, but I am civil with her."

"Jason..." when he looked at her she said "I wasn't going to keep Jake a secret, I thought about it, I will admit that. But I knew... I knew I had to tell you. I thought you would hate being a father, that you would be angry with me. I didn't mean to get pregnant, I swear."

Jason held her hand his grip tightening for a minute, then worried he might be hurting her, loosened his grip. "Then why?"

"I was sure it would be either you wanted us to go away or you would want to claim him as your heir, with me on the outside looking in." she said. "I spent my whole life feeling like that. I never felt wanted."

"Me either." he said. "My mom loved me, but no, I don't think she wanted me. I ruined her life."

"I doubt that, Jason. Mothers, we..."

"Elizabeth." reaching out, he cupped her head, "Not everyone, is as well, naive or sweet as you are."

Looking down, unable to meet his eyes, she said "I blackmailed Alexis Davis and Olivia Falconari, how can you say I am sweet."

"What?" he asked stunned.

"Sonny, he had kids with them, Dante and Kristina. Dante knew, but I don't think Ric does about his daughter. Anyhow, I wanted my trust, I found out that Sonny had no legal right to tie it up like that, that it was from my family. The money, everything I thought you took, the money that belonged to my mother... not Jeff., I just don't get why?" she said bewildered.

"I don't understand, I had the corporation request all moneys your father owed be returned." he said. "He had to sell everything."

"Sonny led me to believe that, but no, my mother's estate was all mine. Jeff had no control of it. It's why he got into the trouble he did. When my mother died, the income was tied up for me, and rather than change his standard of living, my father... my father... he embezzled the money." she finally admitted out loud.

Debating, Jason decided that telling the truth was for the best. "Elizabeth, when Monica announced your father had had an affair, was that the first you ever heard of it?"

"Yes, how could he, I mean, he cheated on my mother? Do you know who the woman was? Did you find that out when you looked into his finances."

"I didn't know of the affair then, I only learned of it while looking for you." he said. "Elizabeth, it wasn't another woman."

"What? But I thought he had an affair?" she asked then seeing Jake fuss, got out of the car and went to remove him from the car seat.

"Elizabeth, he did. It just was with a man." he said closing his eyes.

Elizabeth started to add it up, "S-sonny?" she asked. "But why didn't he tell me?"

"Because there was more to it. Your father... after your mother's death. He was going to lose custody of you, your aunt was making noises about taking you away. Sonny and he had been long term lovers and Sonny was upset that your father was making plans to marry again. For your sake."

"How do you know this?" she asked in shock even as she paced with Jake.

"I was looking for a company at about the same time, needing to expand, I had too much capital since my first takeover was a success. Sonny resented me, I was the new kid on the block, the truth about my parentage making some I dealt with resent me. No one warned me that there had been rumors for years about your dad's company. I took it over, thanks to it's financial shape, it almost bankrupted me."

"I recovered, but in turn, ruined your life." he said sadly. "I just don't know why he married you."

"He was not a bad man, at least not to me." she said leaning against the car. "We made a deal, we lived in the same house, traveled together, but we were like roommates. I learned he had women, didn't care because it wasn't like that with us... then he found out he was ill."

"He told me about Dante, about Kristina. Then a reporter showed up, Trevor Lansing. He works for the Zachara group." she said while his lips twisted. Trevor was a scum bucket but the man knew how to do his research.

"He had found out Sonny's secret, he outed it to me in front of Sonny. I remember after he left, Sonny's crowing that I had fooled the man. Funny thing, I saw his expression and realized that I had been fooling myself. There were hints all along. There was this guard, Max. They were close, I remember them together all the time. Then he went away. Next I heard he was living with a man. I should have paid better attention, but he fooled me."

"When we first met, that night you said something about your dignity."

"I was so angry, people were gossiping about Sonny's death, claiming he died having sex with me. He had those rumors spread by Alexis and Olivia in exchange for giving them money and hiding the secrets of their kids." she said.

"Sonny died of prostate cancer. The rumors about me being pregnant, and miscarrying was so he could go back to sleeping with women, after Trevor showed up. He was all about keeping up appearances."

"Then why the community center, why the legacy?" he asked.

"What legacy? Alexis Davis ruined what Sonny was doing there." she said pissed off. "I did it for the kids, Sonny grew up poor and swore that he would make it possible for kids like him to have a safe place to hang out, to learn to do all those things that rich kids did. I may not have liked him very much by the end of his death, but that center, that was the one thing Sonny and I agreed upon."

"I spent the year after his death, doing research, visiting similar centers all over the country. In between I painted and found out the truth about my estate. Sonny never knew of the Villa my mother owned in Italy. I went there, thinking about things, planning. Then I came to do what I had promised. Alexis was against it, she controls the part of the estate he left for that as well."

"Why if she hates you, would he put her in control?"

"Sonny had no idea that Alexis loathed him as much as me. She was great at covering it up. And unlike the rumors, all she controls is the money in the trust. Until I sold it before coming home, the estate controlled a fifth of the Olive Oil production in Italy." she said looked sideways at him.

"When I came home, I sold it, and while I am not in your income bracket, I am not poor." she said. Jason turned her and took Jake out of her arms and returned the now sleeping baby to his car seat and said "What were your plans, why did you return, besides Jake?"

"To right some wrongs." she said quietly. "Olivia runs around spending money that belongs to Dante, not her. I talked to him, once he got over my age. He is a decent guy but struggling to make ends meet. His mother refuses to help, telling him he needs to work for what he wants, the whole while spending his money and playing lady of the manor at Sonny's old estate. She has pretended she bought it but in truth, she is living there at my behest."

"Why if you don't like her?"

"Because she keeps Alexis in line. They are both guarding Sonny's estate for their own shares, well technically their kids shares, they keep each other honest."

"Elizabeth, I know we are dealing with a lot of issues, but can we try." he said quietly. "To be the best parents for Jake, for us. To be a couple? Would you be willing t-to, well maybe modify our agreement just a bit."

She felt sick, she loved him and knew she wouldn't be able to refuse him anything. Was this how she wanted her son raised, knowing she would do anything for his father, in spite of his not loving her.

"I will try." she said turning to him. "What next?"

"I have a house, the one my mother owned when she took up with Alan, it's nothing grand, not anything close to an Italian Villa or even my own condos."

"Yes. We do have to talk about Emily though. We are close, we have been close since the minute we met, are you going to be okay with her around?" she asked her eyes penetrating his facade to the man underneath.

"Yes, but not Monica or Alan, please?" he asked and holding her close when she nodded. Seeing her blush, he said "What is that about?"

"I uh, there is something we, uh, we can't... uh, I gave birth only four weeks ago. I am not supposed to well..."

Jason was confused. "Elizabeth, what is it?"

"We can't... at least until Dr. Lee gives me the okay." she said then saw his face and feeling frustrated just said. "No sex, for six weeks after giving birth."

Elizabeth and Jason arrived at the house where he grew up. He had gutted the interior, and had made it open with a less eighties feel. Showing her around, he felt like a sixteen year old again, with his first date. Well different than that, actually. His only date before college had been a geeky girl named Robin something. Anyhow, she had been dazzled by AJ a mere hours after their study date and had dumped Jason for him.

Elizabeth had showered and changed and was returning downstairs when she heard soft murmurs and stopped in the doorway watching as Jason held Jake in his arms and once again rocked him to sleep. Seeing him holding their son, it was like something out of an unknown dream.

Jason and she had made progress today, but would they continue? Would some day their marriage be based on something other than their son? Was there a chance that someday he would come to care for her as much as he clearly did Jake?

"Do you want me to take him?" she whispered.

Looking up, he smiled and said. "Not really, I just missed so much time."

"I'm sorry." she said only for him to look up and say "We both should have done things differently. I knew you were in Italy, my guy Spinelli found you and that you were returning. I was scared to come to you, to be rejected."

Over the next few weeks, their life fell into sync with one another. Jason soon learned that she loved to sleep curled up next to him while he found himself holding her tightly worried she would be gone in the morning. Jake seemed to have settled into a routine early as well. He would be feed around eight, then sleep through the night, then conveniently waking about a half hour before Jason would have normally awoken for work.

While Jason was dealing with business, Elizabeth had dealt with Alexis. The attorney had thought by outing her own daughter's paternity she would win. Too bad Elizabeth had meant what she said. One way or another she would have control of her mother's trust.

When Alexis had tried to ruin her in the press, Elizabeth had contacted Trevor Lansing and given him the file she had on Alexis' own secrets. The man had then done some researched and had found out the truth that she had thought well hidden.

Luke Spencer and she had tried to kill her stepmother, but instead had killed Stefan Cassadine's first wife. Elizabeth might have been willing to keep that secret for a later date, but she had had a run in with Lucky who apparently hadn't known she was married.

The discussion had ended with him in the harbor and her threatening to make public that he had slept with his brother's wife. When he had tried to deny it, she had taken pleasure in showing him the video on her cell phone. "Lucky, next time you are making plans for an assignation, don't do it on the public docks where anyone can overhear you."

He had fled, and Elizabeth had given Emily the video. She had been upset on Nik's behalf but Nik had hurt her too badly when he had stood there and acted like cheating with Courtney was no big deal pointing out that during the tumultuous times in her parents marriage, they had constantly cheated on one another.

Alexis had dug in her heels but Elizabeth had found a judge who ordered the attorney to release the trust. What she had done with it had set Alexis off even worse. Elizabeth had used the trust to pay for anyone who wanted a membership in the community center, running her plans to make it a private club only for those whose parents had six figure incomes.

With the news that Luke and Alexis were not going to be charged with murder, Elizabeth had expected it to be business as usual. But the attorney's clients were drying up and or leaving for the firm of Miller and Miller, and Luke's business was now in trouble. The SEC had shown up to audit trades and less than a day later, had called in the IRS.

"Hey, what has you staring out the window?" asked Jason as he returned home. "Were you watching for me?"

Turning, she smiled softly then said "No, I was thinking about whether hurting Luke would hurt you business wise?"

"No, Spencer and I had a deal in play, but he wanted Lucky to run it, I refused. I have loathed that little shit since we were kids." he said. Then looking around said "Where is Jake?"

"Isadora has him in the back yard. He loves the feel of the porch swing." she said.

Sitting down, Jason said "I used to sit in that, reading all the time as a child. It was my hiding place. Where I was certain no one could see me. It's where I cried when I didn't want Mom to see, where I cursed at my lot in life as a teenager. Where I vowed to be richer, meaner and that I would own that house they lived in."

Hugging him, she said "Emily mentioned you didn't live here always."

"The burnt out shell we were at. My mom bought that, when I was little. She heard my vow. She bought it with the money my dad dumped on her. She thought it would make me happy. When I was making my first deal, I had planned on using it for collateral, it burnt down. I don't know who did it, but it was arson." he said his mind going back to that day.

Elizabeth didn't know how to broach the subject, but said "I uh, we have to talk. At least, uh, I went to GH today."

"Did the Quartermaines bother you?" he asked sharply.

"No, I saw your friends, Audrey. The nurse, Epiphany said she doesn't have long. But that isn't it either. I saw Dr. Lee." she said blushing.

"Are you okay?" he asked his hands reaching for hers. "Do you need--"

Touching his lips with her fingers to quiet him, she said "I am fine. She told me everything looks good and that I can resume normal activities. Tonight."

Jason didn't get it then looked up and she saw the look on his face, the moment he understood that that meant they could consummate their marriage. Calling Francis he said "Take care of the meeting tonight for me."

"Jason, wait..." Francis was a bit annoyed to be hung up on. Then looking at the calendar in his bosses office, tried to figure out what meeting. Looking on the executive floor he found the geek and said "What meeting does Jason have tonight?"

Pulling up the schedule, Spinelli said. "The one with Jasper Jacks, but there is no memo on what it is about."

Ric Lansing was leaving the police station for the night after talking to Captain Raynor when the tall blond rushed in and said "You have to deal with this. I am being blackmailed."

Ric looked at Raynor who looked at him then the woman who had entered his office and sat down in his chair while glaring at them. "Ric, tell him to arrest these two."

Taking the picture she was handing them, he asked "Why are you being blackmailed over Carly Quartermaine having sex with two men."

Grumbling to herself about incompetent help, Courtney pulled out the rest of the photos and said "Here."

Looking at them, Raynor was sick but more importantly curious. "Who are they?"

"I don't know their names, if I did would I be here?" she snapped. "I received a note, telling me to place fifty thousand dollars in a bag and drop it in the park. There is no way I am paying them that money. What money I have I have earned, every single stinking penny of it."

Taking the note, Raynor said "What is this about? What does your past mean?"

"Oh, nothing important, they just know that was married before. I mean, I earned that money too, after all I had sex with that creepy old man, so he died. I didn't kill him. His family tried to keep me from my fair share of the estate so I took the jewelry and sold it." she said shrugging.

Ric sat there, wondering what else they could get her to admit to but worried about the legalities asked "Are you sure you don't want a lawyer in here with you?"

"No, why would I need a lawyer, I am the victim." she said slowly, "What are you idiots? I mean, they are trying to steal what belongs to me?"

"Why not go to your husband?" asked the Captain.

"Because I am afraid he will figure out that I lied about being pregnant then miscarrying. Besides, whenever we are in the same room, all he wants to do is rut around on top of me and grunt while sweating." she said.

Ric hid his smirk when she kept talking. "Anyhow, I don't want him to figure out I pawned the diamond ring he bought for that little adopted nobody, I mean she left it, so it is a case of finders keepers, yah know."

"What about Carly and Sam, do you think you should warn them?" asked Ric. The captain felt his jaw drop when the blond announced that they could take care of themselves.

"Sam won't care, unless they found out she shot her third husband then lied that it was self defense. And as for Carly, well she isn't worried. All AJ cares about is winning over Jason and now that he has married that tramp Elizabeth, all AJ does is rage and whine. He ever ordered her to stop sleeping around with other men, and then had the nerve to suggest she stop hanging around with us, how dare he?"

"Courtney, we are going to take care of this for you. But I think for your own protection, at least for the next couple of hours, we need to put you someplace safe." said Captain Raynor.

"Okay, you mean like the hotel?" she asked with a sunny smile.

"No, see if these men have been following you, it has to be someplace unexpected, okay?" asked Ric now almost feeling sorry for the dumb blond.

"Okay, but where?" she asked her eye brows scrunched as she tried to think of someplace. The two men went back in forth with outrageous suggestions, then Ric said "I have it, how about the solitary cell downstairs, I can give you some paper and you can write down all that we discussed, okay. That way we can arraign them right away."

"Will it take long, Nik is still upset about Luke Spencer and is going to want to have sex again tonight, so I have to meet with Lucky first. I mean, he isn't very smart but he is prettier than Nik. If I sleep with him first, it doesn't make Nik as unbearable as he normally is."

"Uh, I promise, we will get right on it." said Ric as they left the room and had a female officer take her to the cell after giving the woman orders. Turning to the two plain clothes officers, Ric said "I want you two to go and pick up Samantha Jacks and Carly Quartermaine. Don't give it away, let them think it is about … I know, Sonny Corinthos, that we suspect his death wasn't an accident and have had a request to reopen the case."

Nodding the two men left, then Ric took great pleasure in calling Nik, Jax and then finally that little shit AJ down to the station. The three men arrived just as two of their wives while Harper and Cruz responding to a request from Raynor showed up thinking they were going to be working a private case for the man.

When they saw the others, neither were worried, after all those women had more to lose than the detectives did. Raynor pulled them off to the side, while Ric waited for their last guest Alexis. Once she was there, the female guard brought up Courtney then handed Ric the papers she had written. With a straight face he asked.

"Courtney, do you see the two men who were blackmailing you and your friends here?"

Sam and Carly looked at one another in horror. The ditsy blond had talked about going to the police but they had thought she was kidding, no one, but no one could be that stupid.

"Yes, that's them, right there." she said triumphantly pointing to the two detectives who stared at the blond in disbelief. "And I wrote it all down, everything they were using against us, including how Sam used someone else's egg to get pregnant with Jax's kid."

Alan entered their bedroom and asked his wife, "Do you want me to bring your dinner over there."

"No, I will eat, I know you want to watch." she said relinquishing her spot in front of the telescope to her husband. "Jason and Elizabeth just came outside a few minutes ago, the nanny handed them Jake and left for the night, I think."

Watching his son like he had done thousands of time before, Alan looked over and saw his wife's sad expression and said "I am sorry."

"You weren't at fault. I was the one who said that it was a quadruple by-pass and I needed your help. Who could have known that Edward would find a way to get Lila out of the house as well. That he would destroy any chance of Jason loving or trusting us."

"No, I could have pressed harder, I could have arranged for us to eat alone with him, I just had dreams of us, as a family." he said with a bitter snort. "Like Edward or Tracy would have allowed that."

"Your sister, she called today, wanting to come to town." she said. "I figured she had heard about Jason getting married and Jake. She had."

"She is never going to get over Mitch wanting Susan, It doesn't matter that Susan didn't want him. This was over thirty five years ago, yet Father and she are still holding a grudge."

"If it wasn't for Lila, I would throw the bastard out." she said. "He has ruined AJ. Michael is well on his way to being another Ned or him. Carly... that is why I am so happy Emily moved into that apartment Jason offered her."

Alan watched as Jason kissed Elizabeth, then went used his foot to make the porch swing move again. Standing, Alan went to the closet and retrieved the camera, grateful for the digital age. Attaching the long distance lens, he snapped the photo then went to print it.

Monica took the picture, her hand tracing the face of the little boy she had fallen in love with the minute she had seen him. Then wiped away the tears as she placed their son in his album of photos. All were the same to a certain extent, a boy, a teenager, then a man all sitting on a porch swing.

"No, wait." said Lila rolling in. Handing Alan a wrapped present, she watched as her son's hand shook as he opened the box. Inside were two albums, the first with photos of Elizabeth, strictly Elizabeth other than two with Emily and one with article about Elizabeth and Jason's being married.

"I think it is time to start a new one." she said closing the door behind her. "I spoke to Audrey today. I made her promise, I said we would try harder to reach out to him, she made me promise something."

"Mother?" said Alan, he could see the cool determination and the stubbornness that Lila rarely showed to anyone.

"She made me promise to tell Jason the truth, that it is way past time he learned it." she said. Reaching out, she said "Oh, my dears. Monica, you have loved that little boy like he was your own, Alan, you both walked away to keep from destroying his childhood. Susan sacrificed too, never moving away, never being allowed to move on. Well, I let it happen, out of the belief that some day, some day the man I love would change."

"Mother, we all agreed... you weren't the only one." said Alan.

"No, no more. Jason needs to know, he needs to know because he is a father now, he needs to know because he is starting his own family. He needs to know that you love him, that you two have always loved him."

At home, Jason carried Jake up to bed, seeing Elizabeth blush, he was worried. He had been alone since the night they had slept together, unable to bring himself to have sex with a woman, knowing that it would be just that, sex.

Now he was worried, he had never had much self control with Elizabeth, just seeing her made his want her. Returning to their bedroom, Jason saw Elizabeth standing in front of her dresser drawer biting her lip while staring inside.

With palms flat against her hips, he brought his hands together in front of her, while kissing her neck. "What are you thinking so heavy about?"

Blushing she said "What should I wear?"

Wanting to tell her nothing, but knowing she wasn't comfortable enough yet, he reached in and lift the first thing he found. "How about this?"

Giggling nervously, she said. "Jason, that was my hospital nursing gown so that Jake could feed."

Looking down, Jason felt himself stir and thicken and said to himself down boy before lifting another nightgown. "How about this one?"

Kissing him shyly, she took the soft green gown then went to her lingerie drawer. Seeing the same expression, then a puzzled look asked "What's wrong?"

"I can't find the panties that match my nightgown. The last time..." she had turned bright red and Jason saw her face then how she looked down and then back up at him. "You have them."

This time, he couldn't resist saying. "Then how about going without?"

Not sure what to do, Jason removed his shirt, hanging it up in his closet, then hearing the water turn off, looked towards the soft light from the opening bathroom door. Standing there, her arms clasped in front of her was his wife, his dream, his heaven.

Reaching out, he turned off the overheard light and then looked at his wife said "I think we start all over again, at the beginning."

Elizabeth said "No, I was too nervous that night. How about we start right where we are?"

Jason felt his heart stop when after all the time choosing, his wife slid the strings holding her gown in place out, then letting it fall to the ground in a quiet wisp of silk on silk as it slid down her body.

With the back light from the bathroom behind her, she stood there then said "I think you are a little overdressed."

Unable to move, Jason stood there while his shy and still very innocent wife undid his belt, unsnapped his jean and slid down the zipper. The rasping sound of it loud in the near silence of the bedroom.

"I think I need some help." she said as she moved her hand inside and tried to slide them down.

Jason kicked off his jeans, then picked up his wife carrying her to their bed, saying. "I love you."

"What?" she asked startled just as Jake cried out in his sleep.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

Jason looked shocked at the words that had come out of his mouth, but hearing his son, he quickly left the room before he could hear Elizabeth telling him that she didn't feel the same way.

The woman in the bed, sat there stunned and finding it hard not to hope and believe that maybe, just maybe her dreams of a happy life with Jason, where he loved her as much as she loved him was possible. Pulling on the wrap that matched her gown, she went to see why Jake who usually slept through the night was awake.

Entering the nursery, she stopped, her eyes widening when she saw Jason trying to change his diaper but Jake being wide awake and trying to squirm away. Moving over, she laid her hands on his belly and said. "Hey little one, what is it? Did you think Mommy and Daddy were having fun without you? Did you want to play too?"

Embarrassed at what he had allowed to slip out in that moment of intimacy, Jason said "I will stay up with him; you go ahead and get some sleep. I know you have a busy day tomorrow and I can just call Francis and find out how the meeting I pushed off on him with Jax went."

"But-" she protested wanting to talk about what he had said.

Jason could see she wanted to talk and to continue what had been going on in their bedroom, but right now, he was too vulnerable, too raw to do so so instead he replied. "No, it's fine. We can always finish this later on."

Elizabeth could see he was shutting down and didn't know what to say or do to get the man she had been about to tell she loved back. A bit worried that he had said it in a moment of passion, not meaning it the way she thought, Elizabeth kissed her little boy and went back to their room and cried herself to sleep.

Jason meanwhile sat there, feeling his heart beating too fast as he swallowed his disappointment that she hadn't responded to what he had told her. Even being told she didn't love him back would have been better than being ignored. He had been ignored his whole life, tossed away for something better or what they had had before. As he sat there rocking their little boy to sleep he had a thought then argued with himself then thought some more then looking at Jake said "I never gave mommy a chase to talk, did I?"

Meanwhile others were dealing with their love life. Courtney was whining and explaining to Nik that yes she had lied but that she had done so because she loved him. The Prince had stared at her in disbelief then announced they were leaving for Greece the next day. "You are not to leave your room; you are to stay with the security guard I assign until we are ready to leave."

A bit shocked that it had worked, Courtney gave a sunny smile and said "Okay, but what about my friends?"

Thinking on what had happened before they left the station, Nik said "If would be better for you and our family's reputation if you didn't associate with them anymore."

Locking his wife in their room, Nik stalked down to the study where his pissed off aunt was waiting. "Why don't you just get an annulment? She asked.

"Because I want a child and she is fertile, I had Dr. Lee run some tests. I will have a child, maybe more with her, then cut her loose." he said coldly. "With her alive, but with no money she won't have the resources to take me to the court and I will have sole custody. Did you take care of that other matter?"

Wanting to protest but knowing that Cassadine Industries was her only remaining account thanks to her father in law and Elizabeth Corinthos, she said "Yes. I just don't think doing business with Zachara is wise. He is a snake."

"Alexis, you would know all about reptiles wouldn't you. Your daughter is viper." he informed her. "Do you have nothing to say about what Carly and she did to me to my family line? Emily was the perfect bride, the perfect future Mrs. Cassadine and they ruined that so that one of their playmates would be able to marry me."

"Nik, I love you, you know that..." said Alexis gently in spite of everything, she did love him and even if it made him angry, she had to say it. "However, if you hadn't fallen into bed with Courtney, they wouldn't have had anything to work with. As for Sam, tomorrow will be a whole new day for my child."

Nik wanted to snort, yeah right. "So, about Corinthos, does the truth coming out mean you inherit anything for Kristina?"

"No, there is trust, but no one can touch it until she is in college. Why Sonny didn't set it up for her now, I don't know." she said pissed off. "I do know that bitch El--"

"Didn't do anything to you." he snapped. "Look, I never wanted to tell you, but well, there were rumors about his sexual orientation about the same time as his marriage to Liz, I always thought he married her to cover it up."

Her lips thinning at the idea of the rumors already starting, she said "Nik, I slept with the man, I know he prefers women."

"Or maybe, just maybe he liked both." said the man in a top-lofty tone. "So Corinthos screwed you then walked, he did that to a lot of women and ever a few men. GET OVER IT, FIND SOMEONE NEW. Or I will step in as head of the Cassadine family and marry you off. From the rumors, Anthony is looking for a new wife."

Alexis glared at her nephew then slammed the door on her way out. Nik went back up stairs and saw his wife trying to flirt with the guard and said to her. "I hired him strictly to guard you, my love."

When she turned he gave a cold smile and said "He used to work for Corinthos, they were lovers and Max here doesn't have sex with women."

Courtney was docilely led into their bedroom and sat down. "Here is how this is going to go. You and I are going to keep having sex until you get pregnant, then I won't touch you again." seeing her smile, he hid his rage at being tricked and continued. "We are going to have a total of two kids, then you are going to be free, with all you deserve as the mother of my heirs. You can go wherever you want, anyplace in the world."

"Spain?" she asked eagerly.

Imagining how she would be treated by the very traditional Spaniards, he said "Yes, I will set you up with a house there after you give me the kids. Do we have a deal?"

Grimacing at her waist, she thought about it then said "Yes." Going to her bathroom, she took another fertility treatment hoping for twins at the very least to put an end to the sex with the tubby hubby and went back to the door in what she thought was a sexy pose. "Are you ready?"

Nik thought of the shot he had to keep from producing sperm for the next six months, so he could be sure that any child she had was his and pulled her into bed, "Always."

Jason held onto Jake all night, watching as his son slept. Finally at down, he slipped back into bed, glad that Elizabeth had finally fallen asleep. Leaning over seeing the tear tracks and feeling guilty for not letting her talk but grateful she couldn't hear or see him; he leaned down and kissed her lightly saying. "I love you, so very much."

It was difficult to pretend to still be asleep, she wanted to sit up and tell him she loved him too but there was too much she didn't know, too much missing. She didn't want him to think she was telling him this because he had said it to her first.

When Jason had gotten comfy and was almost asleep, he felt his wife move closer to him. When he woke up she was curled around him, with her head on his shoulder as she moaned his name. With a smirk, he thought to himself well at least he knew she wanted him as he eased her onto her back and leaned down to kiss her.

As she moaned again and raised her arms to pull him down, Jason looked at the clock and kissed her before regretfully pulling back. "I am sorry, but I have to go to meet Jax."

Elizabeth was half asleep when she heard him but said "Meet Jake and me in the park, around noon?"

Stopping in the bathroom doorway, he watched as she moved back to his side of the bed and curled around his pillow, her hair covering her face as she burrowed deeper into it and said "Do you want me to bring some lunch?"

"Elizabeth?" chuckling softly to himself, he went to shower. His ego hurt a bit from the no reply but Jason was planning on storming the battlements. He could feel the connection, the ties that grew more every single day between him and his wife.

Stopping to kiss Jake goodbye, he let Isadora know of their plans before heading out. He was almost to his front door when he heard the sound of banging on it. Opening it, he saw Lucky Spencer, drunk out of his gourd. "Spencer, what are you doing here?"

"You bastard, you knew I wanted her, I claimed her last year and you just had to steal her away from me like the low life illegitimate freak you are." he hissed. "But then she is all about the money and let's face it thanks to you, my family is in trouble. That is why you ruined us, isn't it."

Jason had known that the Spencers had needed the deal; he had hard balled them on but he had meant what he said to the old man, there was no way that Lucky was running it. The man had run every single division and deal his father had given him into the ground. "Your father chose not to take my offer, I made it, and this was his decision."

"And what about you stealing Corinthos' wife away from me?" he raged.

"I won't dignify that part of your outrageous accusations by answering. Now get the hell out of my house." Jason was well aware that to Lucky, Elizabeth was a possession a way to say I am as good as anybody. The man had major self esteem issues and seemed to think the newest mistress, the fastest car; the biggest paycheck meant he was better than anyone else. Too bad he didn't have the brains or the cunning to realize all he did was make himself look like even more of a loser compared to his father.

Lucky left vowing to make him pay with one last volley. "Oh please, Morgan. You don't know a thing about dignity, you are the bastard of man who didn't want you and you never had the sense to leave town. No one wants you here, no one ever did. As for Elizabeth, when she gets tired of your surely coarse and uncouth affections, she will come to me. They all do."

"No, that would be your sister-in-law." snapped Elizabeth as she came down the stairs wearing sweats and glaring at the man in her living room. "Get out and Lucky... I know about your blond on Courtland Street."

Lucky turned white then glared at her before leaving with "Keep her, she is trash anyhow."

When Jason turned to look at her, she said "Don't ask. Sonny had a file on him, let's just say that Lucky has mommy issues he tried to work out with a hooker who looked a lot like Laura Spencer."

Shuddering he went over to her and once she was in his arms said "I thought you were asleep."

"I was, but my pillow left and the substitute was too soft." she said with a shy smile as she blushed and looked down. Jason lifted her chin then after promising to let her use him again that night kissed her then said "Be careful, I don't trust Lansing at all."

When Elizabeth walked into the Metrocourt, she saw an extraordinary scene. Sam Jacks being hauled out in handcuffs with most of the press waiting in the lobby. "I wonder what that is about."

"How about an exchange of information?" asked Lansing as he slithered over to where she was standing. When they were seated in the plush lobby chairs and had the tea Marty had brought over, Elizabeth looked at the reporter and waited. "Sam Jacks is a con artist who killed an ex-husband and made it look like self defense. She is still married to husband number four who isn't Jasper Jacks. And that is only the beginning."

Glad that the rather decent Jax would now be able to free his daughter from her mother, Elizabeth sat back and said "This is the deal, you ask the questions, if I am willing to, I will answer them."

Trevor hid his shark line grin. This was the interview of a lifetime. "Is anything other than your new husband's connections to the Quartermaines off limits?"

"I will decide on a question by question basis." she replied. When Trevor asked his first question she replied "No, I don't know the answer to that one. All I recall is that my father told me I was born in Italy."

"And you never knew you were adopted?" he asked then said "Of course not, next question. "When did you find out about your father and Sonny?"

Telling him the whole story was cathartic for Elizabeth as Trevor asked questions and she answered. "So Sonny and you never were lovers?"

"No, we weren't." she replied. "I think he felt guilty. He was mad at my father for thinking about getting married again, even if it was to protect me. He sent Jason after my dad's company, thinking to kill two birds with one stone. My dad coming back to him because he was in trouble and Jason in trouble financially since the company was in deep trouble."

"This isn't a surprise, Sonny Corinthos has always been a selfish man." replied Trevor thinking about the boy shoving his mother down the stairs, it might have been an accident but the reason behind it, his anger at her spending time with someone else had always haunted Trevor. "Yet, he saved you, why?"

"Like I said, guilt for what happened. Sonny and I lived parallel lives, same city, same house, but different friends, different interests." she said. "You know the rumors about the other women, the other men. I didn't care because it was like he was my roommate. However, he was very careful about my reputation until the end."

"What changed?"

"Sonny found out he had a son not a daughter like Olivia had worked hard to convince him, Dante Falconari is in his twenties. He had already made plans for the center and had yet another reason to hide what he considered something shameful." she said. "I still don't know where I stand on what he did but in the end, he tried to please too many people, protect too many secrets."

"What about Alexis Davis and this Dante's mother?" asked Trevor.

"Alexis is no longer a factor since she can't control my inheritance which I used to make the center what Sonny had wanted it to be. As for Olivia, well... her son is going to be dealing with her. I don't hate these women, they are trying to protect their own... just like I am." she said in conclusion while Trevor was figuring out if he wanted this to be a three part series or the Sunday spread.

Jason listened to Jax in astonishment. "So you are free?"

"Yes, and I know this is the wrong time... but you know the truth about my marriage. Would you object to me dating your sister?" The blond had the grace to look embarrassed but it was clear he had been thinking about this for a while.

"Emily is free to see who she wants." he said with a shrug. "Jax, just do me a favor, take your time. You both were victims of this mess and she is still heart broken over Cassadine. Are you sure he is going to stay with the bimbo?"

"Yes, they are leaving for Greece." said Jax. "I asked him to find out what he could about the true mother of my little girl. Jocelyn deserves to know who her mother is."

Switching to business, Jason said "I am going to send Francis and maybe you should send Olivia."

Jax wondered if that was about how Olivia was still trying to figure out Elizabeth and said "Uh, she is getting married, then leaving town to some South American that her son introduced her to a few days ago. It was apparently a whirlwind courtship. Uh, Morgan. AJ went straight to the nearest bar after leaving the station. I don't know if you are aware but he slapped Carly. She slapped him back but it was ugly I heard."

Jason could care less what his half brother did. "I have to meet Elizabeth in the park."

"Congratulations on that." said the Aussie. "She is incredibly lovely and kind. I saw her in Italy a few weeks ago, with her son. I wondered about the eye color."

"Why didn't you say anything?" growled Jason.

The tall blond looked at him and said "Because she mentioned she was coming home with her son that she was going to be figuring out what to do about his father. I knew you, I saw the expression on your face the day her name was mentioned around Christmas time. I knew that her worries were nothing."

"Why?" he snapped.

"Morgan, you are in love with her, I know Elizabeth well enough to know that if she went to bed with you, she cared as much as you did. And look, you proved me right didn't you?" he said with a smug grin. "I do have to ask, what is it like to be married to the woman you love, to the woman who loves you. To share a child that way?"

"None of your business."

Emily was standing outside Nik's office listening as he let Lucky know what he had done. Her own eyes widening as she realized this meant the Zacharas would now own half of GH, she quickly left to go and find her parents letting the two brothers duke it out over Lucky's behavior.

"Take the money I gave you and leave town." snapped the older man as he read the report from his spy. and called Tracy. "What the hell did you do with the pharmaceutical division, does anyone in this family have my business talents or are you all determined to bankrupt me?"

Grabbing his heart, he calmed down and took on of his nitro pills after hanging up. Calling his grandson he asked. "Where are you?"

AJ looked at his wife, then at his son and glared at the woman before saying. "Dealing, with a family crisis."

"Get your ass to my office; we have a company to run. Deal with your wives indiscretions the old-fashioned way, have her committed." snapped the man. "Just get here now."

Starring at Carly, AJ said "Who changed the results?"

When she didn't answer, he grabbed her arm then seeing Michael watching hissed in her ear, "Tell me, who is the father of your son, our son? Tell me then get out of here."

"I don't know."

AJ starred at her again, then looked down at the boy. While he loathed his wife, his family and most especially his half breed bastard of a brother, AJ loved his son. There was no way he was going to lose this little boy. "Get out and don't come back. Carly if you don't want the police to receive what your lover Courtney didn't tell them, don't expect to take my son."

Tensing up, since she had planned to access Michael's trust, she glared at her soon to be ex-husband. Steaming when he didn't back down, she walked out the door and went to the study. Picking up the item, she went looking for her passport to riches and shot him.

"NNNNOOOOoooo!" was all that was heard by Ned down the hall. Rushing in, he stood shocked then tried to stop the blood while calling for an ambulance. Seeing the blood; who was lying on the ground, he looked at the only person standing and asked "What just happened here?"

Emily got off the phone with Jax, while happy he called, she was a bit worried that her grandmother would leave before she had a chance to tell her what she had found out. Approaching the room of Audrey Hardy, she shamelessly listened in, stunned at what she was hearing. "Oh, Jason, this explains everything."

Rushing out to the park where she knew she would find her brother and his wife, seeing them with Jake in a stroller being pushed by her brother made her stop and grin when she saw the look on Elizabeth's face. A bit of envy crept in when her brother leaned over to kiss her quickly.

Walking over, she was greeted by Elizabeth who said "I thought you were going to be busy all day?"

"I was supposed to be studying, but I just overheard something I needed to talk to Jason about, but that can wait. From the basket you are carrying, I would guess that you were planning a romantic lunch." she said pointing to said basket. "Why don't I take Jake here for a walk while you two eat, then I really need to talk to Jason."

Looking between his sister and his wife, Jason lost all train of thought when the word wife drifted across his brain. As his mind went to their home and bed and all he...." Turning he looked at his sister and scowling snapped "WHAT?"

With an unapologetic grin she said "Where did you just go in your mind, you had the silliest grin on your face."

"None of your business." he said his face flushing while Elizabeth soon joined him in the silly grin part as she watched the two of them. Hearing screams, they all turned at the same time, Jason shoving Elizabeth and Jake out of the way just as the car barreled down on them.

Hearing his bones crunch in his hand when it was jammed into the ground, Jason looked around desperately for Emily who should have been safely out of the way. When Elizabeth screamed, he rushed over to see his sister on the ground with blood flowing from a head wound.

Calling 911, he was told there had been several hurt and ambulances were on the way. Checking out his wife and son even as he told the woman to get help there, right away, he thanked god that his family was safe. Hearing a loud horn, he saw the large luxury vehicle had crashed into a tree about twenty five feet away. Reading the license plate, he was furious as he rushed over.

Ripping open the door, he saw Edward unconscious and still holding his heart along with the spilled bottle of nitroglycerin pills. There were suddenly more screams and almost beyond shock, Jason turned and ran when he saw his wife and child were not alone anymore.

Rushing back, he was grateful that the man had his back to him as he sucker punched Lucky and told the man on the ground to stay there if he had any brains. "Elizabeth, are you okay?"

Shaking as she moved into his arms while holding Jake, she said "Yes, I was checking Jake, lifting him out while next to Emily when he came up behind me and grabbed the arm that had J-jake, I almost dropped our little boy, I..."

With his trembling wife in his arms, Jason saw the paramedics working on Emily while Lucky glared then Jason spit out to the second set. "Old man, heart attack in the Bentley, he is the one that caused the crash."

Lucky gave a knowing look and laughed. "Oh, please, the old buzzard probably got sick and tired of you and tried to run your so-called family over. After all we all know that the only reason you married her was the kid, you wouldn't want him to be labeled a bastard like his dad. With you two as parents, that kid will be worthless."

The paramedics were taking Emily to the hospital and Jason ignored Spencer when they heard the call on the man's radio. Turning white, Jason looked at Elizabeth then around at the mess and said "I can't go to the hospital, it will only cause problems."

"Do you want me to go with Emily?" she asked gently then hugged him when he nodded yes. Gently kissing him, she saw Spencer glare then rush off still stumbling from the smell of alcohol that permeated around him. Looking into Jason's eyes, she couldn't resist the need to tell him the truth so she whispered "I love you."

Seeing his face, the rejection on there, Elizabeth saw the mayhem and knew she had to get his attention. "I love you, I did before last night. When this is over, we are going to talk, do you hear me?"

Looking down, he said "Fine." Hopping into the ambulance that was now ready to leave, she looked back and saw a dark haired man approaching Jason and hoped all was well.

"Morgan, what the hell happened here?" snapped John Zachara. "My dad sent me to meet you, Cassadine just sold us his docks as well as his shares in the hospital."

Looking at the man younger man, he said "Edward, who knows, he might have been trying to kill me for real this time."

"It's ironic, your biological grandfather is considered a pillar of the community and called eccentric and is more than likely is insane and my dad who was set up is vilified and reviled plays insane."

"The Quartermaines have always been about appearances." snarled Jason while holding Jake who seemed fascinated with his tie.

"Who is the little guy? Anything you want to tell me?" said the younger man with a sideways look and a grin.

Jason perked up and said "This is my son, Jacob Morgan. I uh, got married a couple of weeks ago."

Looking up, John saw he wasn't kidding and chuckled. "Dad sent me to Australia to track down Jack's brother a couple months ago, any thing else I miss?"

With a grin, Jason couldn't help asking in spite of being worried about Emily and the pain in his hand "That trip to down under wouldn't have anything to do with a certain woman dumping spaghetti on your head at the meeting we had?"

With an unrepentant grin, he replied. "No, but it does have to do with the bottle of burgundy she added to it. Dad was pissed, there are only four of those left in the whole world, when he read the article in the paper, I knew I was up the creek without a paddle, since I didn't bother asking for one of them.."

Thinking on it, Jason said "I have to go, listen, if your dad decides to unload those docks, let me know, I had a plan for the Canneries at one point."

Jason took Jake home and let Isadora know that there had been an accident involving his sister then reluctantly handing Jake over, went to see if he could find anything out without his family knowing.

Monica and Alan had been called down to the ER four times and both were ready to fire Amy Vining when they got off the elevator but that was soon forgotten in the chaos as Emily was being wheeled in with Elizabeth walking next to her. "Car hit her in the park."

The brunette sat down and waited as a young doctor rushed in and took over her friends care while her parents sat down waiting for news. They were soon called back to the desk and Amy said "Dr. Quartermaine, your father is coming in, he had a car accident."

Thinking on what Elizabeth had told them about the incident in the park, Alan paled wondering if Emily had been hit by Edward trying to hurt Jason. His father had always loathed Jason, his son's existence had been a wound festering for the old man.

Edward had long blamed all that had happened on an innocent child who had grown up into a man who was now his biggest business competition. He had no doubt his father would run Jason down if he had a chance.

When they wheeled the man in, the paramedics were telling Monica that he had had a heart attack. "He was also the one who hit the victims in the park. Most went to Mercy and County, you are getting the overflow."

As they took that all in, the heard Ned shouting as AJ carried in his son. "Help us."

Rushing over, they saw Michael had been shot. "What happened here?"

"C-carly, she was trying to shoot me." said AJ broken as the newest head doctor took his son off. "She, I told her it was over. She went to the study, I think. Grandfather's revolver."

When the elderly woman wheeled herself down into the ER, she saw her family a mess while she saw Jason lurking off in the corner. Dealing with Monica, she got the whole story but then saw Elizabeth moving towards her husband at the same time AJ did. When her grandson verbally attacked his brother, she went to get between them.

"NO! AJ now isn't the time for your nonsense. Go worry about your little boy." she said in a steely tone knowing that emotions were high and things would be said that would hurt everyone present.

"Not until that bastard leaves." he said looking with hatred at his brother. "We don't want you here, and I don't give a crap if you somehow to trick Elizabeth into marrying you, get the hell out."

Elizabeth reached out and held her husband close before turning to AJ. "Your son is fighting for his life and this is what you are doing. Fighting with Jason, over what? Edward, he doesn't give a crap, your parents love? AJ, grow up. He is here because Emily is his sister--"

"No she isn't. She is MY SISTER." he snapped.

Monica had had it with her family and got in front of AJ and said "She is both of yours sisters."

When AJ sneered and said "If you were any kind of brother, you would have been there for Mom when she had cancer, for dad when he had a heart attack, but what were you doing, you were too busy taking another chunk of ELQ from grandfather."

"ENOUGH!" shouted Alan tired of it all. "Back away AJ. You started all this, you hurting a five year old boy. You and your grandfather are the reason this family is divided. I have had it. Go upstairs, wait to find out how your son is and stay there. I am done. I can't do this anymore."

When they went to protest Lila said "No, Emily is upstairs lying in a bed wondering where her family is, and where are they still jealous that Monica and Alan made plans to take a five year old to the zoo without them. Get over it, AJ. He is YOUR brother, he has never done anything to you; you didn't deserve."

Elizabeth waited until Lila had distracted them and had pulled Jason off to the hub and demanded to see a doctor. Jason turned her around, worried, "Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?"

Reaching up, she cupped his face, and then said "Your hand, Jason it needs looked at."

"I am fine." he said trying to play down the pain. When she reached down and lifted his hand, touching the bruising that was already starting to appear, he found he couldn't say anything as she lifted his hand to her lips and gently kissed each knuckle.

"Get it looked at, please, for Me." she said her wide blue eyes staring into his. He leaned down and brought his forehead to hers and said "For you, anything."

AJ glared, resenting that once again Jason had something better than he did. When Steven Hardy came over and checked the bastard's hand, AJ growled when he saw his mother's worry and his father trying to discreetly find out how he was. Why couldn't they love him as much as this Johnny come lately who stole his family away.

Elizabeth sat there holding Jason's good hand while the young doctor took care of his other one. "Is he okay?"

Looking up from where he was wrapping the left hand, the trauma doctor said "He jammed it, the bones are going to be sore for a while, but nothing is sprained or broken."

Kissing Jason's cheek, Elizabeth said thank you to the doctor just as they heard Emily's doctor returning. Hurrying out, they listened as he said "She has a concussion, but is awake and asking for someone named Lizzie."

Groaning at that horrible old nickname, Elizabeth went to see her friend but the frantic expression on her face as she talked to the short blond in there had her worried. "Em, is everything okay?"

Maxie, the talkative blond left quickly and went to find her sister. "Jake? Is everyone else okay? Dr. Drake didn't know."

Elizabeth hugged her friend and said "Jake, Jason and I are fine. He is outside; do you want me to have him come in?"

Her eyes widening comically, Emily said "My parents are here and Jason as well?"

Seeing her nodding yes, Emily grinned and said "I need you to get them all in here, I have something I need to tell them."

Placing her hand on Emily's arm, Elizabeth said "Em, no. Whatever your plan, no. At least not right now, AJ's son was shot by his mother and Edward was the one who caused the accident. He had a heart attack and ran all those people down."

"Elizabeth, it is has to be now, this is the only chance I have to put some things right, please, for me?" she begged but her friend's resolve stayed firm.

"Emily, I am sorry but no. Jason... Jason and I talked, he told me what happened. I know you want to make everything better, but sometimes, sometimes, that isn't possible." she said gently hating to deny her friend but more worried about her husband.

"Elizabeth, please, listen. They are all at cross purposes, my parents love Jason."

Walking to the door, Elizabeth looked at her friend and said "I will send your parents in, but I am taking Jason home and putting him to bed."

"WAIT! Why? I thought he wasn't hurt?" she asked frantically.

With a sly grin, Elizabeth said "No, he jammed his hand, but it gives me an excuse to tuck him into bed."

Emily looked confused then asked "Why would you want to do... never mind. I forgot... uh, sorry but Elizabeth, you have to help me fix this."

"Emily, it was fixable thirty years ago, now... not so much." she said walking out feeling sad for her friend, knowing that if she had let this go any further, there would be more hurt feelings, more anger and right now, no one needed that.

On the drive home, Elizabeth turned on the radio to hear the news and listened as they updated their top stories, including a city wide manhunt for Carly Quartermaine wanted in connection to the shooting of her son, that Sam Jacks was under arrest and awaiting extradition to Florida. That her mother, Alexis Davis had disowned her daughter only to be informed that she wasn't her child.

As the reporter sounded gleeful about all of this, Elizabeth just shook her head feeling bad for the innocent children who were caught in the middle of this mess. At the house, Elizabeth helped Jason in, never seeing the man hiding his grin at her guiding him straight upstairs to their room.

"I want to see Jake, before we lie down." he insisted. Peeking in on their sleeping son, Jason felt his heart pounding in his chest as their little boy slept, his hands above his head, stretching out as if to claim as much of his crib as possible.

"He is so perfect." she said sighing with delight when Jake woke up momentarily and gave a soft grin and then a guzzling sound before going right back to sleep. Jason encircled her waist, being careful to act like his hand was bothering him before placing his head on top of hers while they watched their son for another hour.

Then gently turning his wife, he kissed her softly on the lips pulling her into their bedroom and closing the door. "We need to talk."

Worried that he was about to changed his mind, she had never really been allowed to be happy, worried that she was about to lose everything, she was pulled back down to earth when she heard what he was saying. "Wait? Really?" she asked her knees giving way and grateful there was a chair now beneath her.

"Yes, I do." he said kneeling in front of her. "I love you, Elizabeth Webber Morgan, so very, very much."

Looking into Jason's eyes, she asked "Do you believe me that I love you as well."

Lifting her arms, ignoring her protests, he carried her over to their bed and placed her in the middle of it. "Yes, I do. I think I knew it last night... I just, I am so … after my father walked away... after that horrible day... then the court cases and hearing about it at school... I just... I was so scared to open my heart to anyone then we talked at the ball and I was just stunned to realize how quickly you took control of my heart." he said.

When the bed dipped from Jason kneeling at her feet, Elizabeth rose to her knees and cupped his face with her hands, "I know, I felt the same way... until I found out who you were... then it was such a shock, after everything I had been told, everything I knew at the time to be the truth... to love you... felt like I was wrong. Like I was this horrible person who didn't deserve to be happy because of what I had thought you did."

His hands cupping her rear, Jason pulled her into him, letting her feel his need for her then said "You, Elizabeth Morgan deserve all the happiness we can find."

Whispering quietly she said "We both do. And we are going to be happy, us and our son." Tilting her head, she gently flicked her tongue against his lips, before she pulled him deeper into their kiss. She could feel his strength, his need but his gentleness as well. When he lifted her and then eased her down onto the bed, Elizabeth thought she would die if he stopped kissing her.

When their lips parted, she begged him not to stop only for him to kiss his way down her neck to the edge of her shirt. Helping her sit up, he lifted the hem and slid the shirt up and over her head before lying her back down. Staring, his eyes feasting on the pale moon lit skin, his mouth watering from the urge to feast, he mentally reminded himself to go slower.

They had always been urgent and hard, he wanted to worship her body, show her what it was like to love and to be loved. "Tell me your mine."

Her eyes opened and Elizabeth felt herself melting at the heat in his as she said "I am yours, and only yours."

As he removed his remaining clothes and then lifted her hips to ease the small bits of silk down her legs and toss them onto the floor, Jason pressed soft kisses as he followed them with his lips. When he lightly kissed each toe, then nipped at her heel, she couldn't help giggling saying breathlessly. "Jason, stop I am ticklish."

Seeing his impish grin, Elizabeth tensed, expecting him to keep teasing her, instead she found her leg on his shoulder as he kissed his way up her ankle, then to the inside of her smooth thigh. As he lifted her other leg, repeating the kisses and then moved her legs so they surrounded his hips, she was slightly disappointed at not getting a repeat performance of that night on the Metrocourt terrace.

With an evil chuckle, Jason kissed her belly button, then straight up her middle, never touching either of the breasts now begging for his touch. When he reached her lips, he gave her the most carnal kiss of her life,.

Lips, tongues and breathing combined in a synchronized game, both trying to tempt one another into moving their love play into serious territory but both enjoying the foreplay knowing that after this time, what was to come would be earth shattering.

Jason skimmed his hand down over her body then on the return trip, lifted hers and held it to his heart. "Touch me."

Elizabeth smiled at the idea, it was new to her, this freedom to touch, to marvel in knowing that he was hers as she cupped his face then gently caressed his ears, her mind reminded of a Spaniel that her cook once had. Jason's look of pleasure was the same look of bliss that the little dog had. Softly laughing, she couldn't resist teasing him. He looked slightly affronted then taunted "Well, explore me; find out how else I will react."

With a grin, she decided to meet that challenge and ran her hand down his neck then leaned up to kiss him on his pulse point, amazed at how fast his heart was beating. Meanwhile her hand was still busy as she caressed his shoulder and down his arm before going back up to his shoulder then across the front of his chest, her lips following her questing hands.

Hearing his breath catch as she came to his love trail then she spread her hands to span his waist. Lifting her body just enough to let their naked skin touch, Elizabeth said "Show me."

Blinking he asked "What?"

Blushing she said "Show me how to touch you." Jason laid down beside her, then moved her onto her side, before taking her right hand in his then encircled himself with her long fingers. "What now?"

Showing her how to move her hand, he saw the fascination in her eyes as she got used to touching him, when she told him to let go, he was a bit disappointed, expecting her to pull back, instead she asked him to lay down on his back as she sat up and then knelt beside him, her long hair covering her breasts, teasing him with glimpses as she kept up caressing him.

Elizabeth was fascinated with the way Jason's body felt. The hard, almost steel-like quality to him yet at the same time, his skin was soft to the touch, warm even. Seeing how his tip was a dark plum, she bent down to kiss the mushroom shaped peak that was now moist and felt Jason tense then with a guttural groan beg her to take him inside of her.

When he finally felt her lips encase him, Jason lost himself in the feelings she was creating. The warmth, the want and most importantly the feeling of being free, of not having to hide himself. Just as he was starting to regain control, Elizabeth wrapped her hand around the remaining parts of him then did something unexpected when she seemed to hum.

Before he could warn her, he came, shocked as she slowly eased back, swallowing what he had released. Jason saw her eyes, the enjoyment she had gotten in what had just happened and asked in disbelief "Where on earth did you learn to do that?"

As her grin fell and she looked upset, Jason got what was going on and pulled her up into his arms saying urgently. "It was great, but I think you just killed me."

Her smile lit up her eyes as she gave an embarrassed chuckle then said. "I uh, Emily's friend, my doctor was telling us last time I was here, how men enjoyed that."

Flipping her so that she was beneath him, Jason felt himself growing hard again even as he said "I have never had anyone do that before and I want to experiment with something."

Ten minutes later, Elizabeth was begging him to stop as he lathed her lower lips with his tongue in between humming while sucking on her clit. "Please, oh, Jason please?"

Lifting his head, he asked teasing her "Please? You want me to stop?"

Seeing his face, glistening with proof of how much she wanted him, she said "Please, don't stop."

His eyes were pools of deep azure as he lowered his head, then lifted her legs back up over his shoulders until her rear was off the bed just enough that she couldn't control things. Jason licked his way down the path from her belly button to the small tented one before and used his tongue to strum her until she was back to moaning incoherently.

Then wrapping his arm around her legs, he held her open with his finger tips while heading on a quest south. When his tongue found what it was searching for, he curled it and thrust inside repeatedly before starting to hum, slightly embarrassed to realize the only song he could recall was the Christmas Carol God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman as he sent her over the edge.

Raising himself as he removed her legs and thrust himself inside her quivering mass, Jason felt her letting go as she squeezed him with her thighs and pulled his lips to hers as he moved inside of her. His mind went blank as he saw spots, both of them coming at the same time.

He could feel her inner muscles relaxing as they came down from their high and then grimaced as he noticed the wetness that meant they hadn't used protection. He had read something in one of her baby books he had borrowed and hoped that he wasn't wrong in thinking that it wasn't possible for her to get pregnant again right away. Otherwise, Elizabeth might just want to kill him yet.

As their sweat slicked bodies cooled, Elizabeth sighed with pleasure and said "I was planning on putting you to bed."

Lifting his head from her chest, Jason looked around and said "We are in bed."

With a soft giggle, she said "I mean for you to sleep. I know that you said your hand doesn't hurt, but Jason... it was so swollen."

Lifting his upper body, he said "Other swollen parts took precedence, but I promise, I will sleep now."

When she tried to move, he pulled her back into his arms, spooning behind her saying. "No, let's stay here for now. Enjoying the peace."

In spite of wanting to shower, Elizabeth was soon asleep, unaware that Jason was still awake, his mind going to what he had heard while his wife was in visiting Emily. Edward hadn't made it; AJ's son was fine, the bullet only grazing the little boy who had been sedated because of the pain.

He had watched, shocked to see that while Lila had been upset about her husband's death, the look on Alan's face had been one of relief. As he started to fall asleep himself, all Jason could think about was his old dreams, with the old man gone, ELQ would be ripe for a takeover, he could finally win over the man who had dismissed and ridiculed him his entire life.

The next few days were blissful in the Morgan household while outside the world was a busy place. Nik Cassadine had left town, but not before selling all his local businesses to Zachara Industries, something that upset more than a few as he was even less liked than Jason.

The old man was crazy and his son, his son was ruthless, having had the former police commissioner fired without even listening to his explanation as to why Maria had been at his house, and in his bed. Mac Scorpio had left town, vowing to prove he wasn't guilty but had died before he could. His daughters were still in town, both vowing vengeance for their father's death.

Elsewhere Courtney had snuck out needing something to remember for the months ahead, shocked to realize it was easy to slip past the guard, unaware that her husband knew what was going on. When she returned to the Island, he had insisted they have sex making her want to howl as she hadn't had a chance to imprint the quickie sex on her memory before the grunting and sweat sex her husband had insisted on in the stables happened.

Sam was in jail, awaiting extradition, while Alexis was reeling from the knowledge she wasn't her real child. That it had all been a con to get close to either Nik or Jasper Jacks. The Australian had already filed for divorce and been granted full custody of his daughter while he tried to find out who her mother was. Sam when he had asked her had snarled suggesting he ask everyone woman in Port Charles he came in contact with, that eventually he would find her.

Carly had been cornered but had refused to back down, dying in a hail of bullets when she had fired her gun at the police. AJ had been furious to find out that he was responsible for her burial and had her cremated then dumped in the harbor. Taking home his son, he checked everything Carly had, wanting to verify that no one, but no one knew that Michael wasn't his biologically.

A bit sickened to find out his son's biological father was Tony Jones, the man who had been married to Carly's mother, he burnt the papers then went to see if Michael was awake. Seeing Emily in the hall, he was pissed when she looked at him then said "I heard what you said to Jason at the hospital, how could you AJ?"

Edward was buried in a private service, Tracy coming home and bringing her youngest son with her, eager for the will reading that was to follow. Lila was alone in the crypt when she heard light footsteps. "Mrs. Quartermaine, you asked me to meet you here."

"Elizabeth, thank you for coming." she said with a heavy sigh. "I saw Jason and you with Audrey today but I knew that he wouldn't like me approaching when you had your son with you."

With a sad smile, Elizabeth sat down on the steps and saw that Reginald was off in the distance waiting for his mistress and asked "How are you?"

With a bittersweet smile, Lila said "I am fine, my dear. I loved the man I knew for many, many years but then Edward had a heart attack, and did you know that he had a heart problem?"

Seeing her nodding no, Lila said "Yes, it was terrible and it changed the man. He became all about his legacy, the future, that man, the one I have been married to since then... I tried to soften him. It didn't work, then for a while I thought he learned, that he had come to realize what he had done but I was wrong."

"Mrs. Quartermaine, if this is about Jason..." Elizabeth had always adored the elderly woman in the wheelchair, but she wasn't going to let them use her to get access to hurt Jason, not on her watch.

"It is, oh my dear." she said sadly. "Edward has struck again. Done something terrible. No one inherits anything, no one gets to hear the will unless Jason is there. I am so scared of what my husband has done."

Elizabeth closed her eyes, remembering Sonny's will reading, Alexis' smugness. Then her father's, as she sat there thinking about it, she remembered the lawyer handing Sonny something and her head came up as she recalled what was said. "I have to go."

"Wait, no. Please listen to me. Tracy went to a judge, if Jason doesn't come to the reading tomorrow, they are going to charge him with contempt of court. Have Jason thrown in jail." said the now crying lady. "Please, just talk to him."

Looking at Lila, Elizabeth said "Jason and his attorney are working out a deal with Lee Baldwin, he is going to be there, and I am as well, but Lila, after this... after this... Jason is furious and I don't blame him a bit. Did you know?"

Seeing the woman in the wheelchair said "No, I wouldn't have let him do this, we all know how this reading is going to go."

"No, I meant did you know that Edward paid Susan to abort Jason that he hired men to burn down Susan's house so that Jason's business wouldn't succeed. It did anyhow... he was so determined to beat that old man at his own game. I used to love coming here, but now... Lila, to hear how this family, these people that welcomed me with open arms, treated one of their own... I can't stand to be here."

AJ had come looking for his grandmother and heard what Elizabeth said. "Then don't be here and Jason isn't one of us, he is a mongrel, a stray dog. Nothing more. As for Susan Moore, she took the money, didn't she? What does that say about her?"

Looking at the man, Elizabeth said "You are sad, pathetic, jealous man who wishes he was Jason. AJ, one word, one smart ass comment at this reading tomorrow and I will personally go to Trevor Lansing."

"Oh my dear..." said Lila, "Please, just let..."

"No, I will protect my husband, my family." she said looking at them. "You, this family went after a little boy, for what? For existing. Oh, and AJ, what I have on you, includes Michael, but I would never do that, I would never hurt a child, unlike you."

Walking away, she never saw Lila's tears or AJ's panic at what she might have. If she knew about the truth, with his past... he was screwed.

Elizabeth stopped to visit with Emily, the two talking about the Zachara take over of GH and what it meant when they saw AJ driving away at top speed. Hugging Elizabeth, Emily said "I wish tomorrow wasn't happening, I thought for a moment... well, I guess it is too late."

Seeing the miserable expression on her friends face, Elizabeth comforted her then said "I have to get home, Isadora is off today and Jason has been with Jake all by himself. I am sure he would like a little relief by now."

Arriving home, she saw her husband, his dress shirt untucked, his tie gone and wearing no shoes curled up on the sofa asleep with their son on top of him in just a diaper. Setting her purse down, she went to lift Jake, only for Jason's hand to encircle her wrist and say "Join us."

"Better yet, why don't we move this to our bed?" she asked blushing when he eagerly sat up and locking the front door followed. "Did Diane get what you wanted for tomorrow?"

"Everything but the most important one. I really wish you didn't have to be there." he said with a troubled expression. "I don't like this. To expose you to Tracy and the rest of those blood-sucking money grubbing Quartermaines."


	4. Chapter 4

When I found this and updated it, it was amusing to recall I had made Trevor Lansing a sort of gray hat character. I loved the actor, he has been a character actor on lots of prime time shows, the other night, I saw him on an old episode of JAG and Murder She Wrote in the same night. Once again, GH had a good actor and didn't do anything with him.

Chapter 4 

Emily was talking frantically to her parents, wishing she had pushed it with Elizabeth in regards to telling Jason the truth, but she had seen how happy her friend had been and let it go, thinking they would have more time to talk, more time for her to tell him what had really happened when he was a child.

When Monica gently stopped her from talking, she just looked at them, hurting for them, for Jason, for her grandmother who was forbidden to visit her latest great-grandchild because of a misunderstanding created by an angry old man. An old man who as he grew older blamed Jason for the way that AJ and Ned turned out, instead of facing that he was at fault.

They were standing at the courthouse, Jason having absolutely refused to come to the mansion for the reading, Ned was complaining about family business being public but Tracy was just pissed one minute that Jason was going to be there and then giddy at the idea Jason had to sit there and take anything that Edward dished out on screen.

Entering the courthouse conference room, Tracy was furious to be told to sit next to Ned at the end of the table. "Why am I down here when the unwanted..."

"Ms. Quartermaine, as per my agreement with Mr. Baldwin, one more word and my client will leave without consequences to him or his family." stated Diane from where she stood behind Jason who just ignored the dark haired woman and concentrated on his wife.

Tracy sat down, she was visibly unhappy but no one even cared. Lee looked around the room as he said "Edward updated his will frequently; this one was signed two months ago. I have a statement from Dr. Collins, to prove he was sane at the time of the writing."

Jason doubted that, but kept his mouth shut, not wanting to start a war.

"Now, I will skip the legalese and head straight to the parts that matter." said the old man looking around the crowded room. "To my daughter Tracy, I set up a trust fund of one hundred million dollars for you the day you came to work for me."

When the dark haired woman smiled then said "That is what I deserve, I knew daddy would take good care of me."

"I am not finished, Ms. Quartermaine." the attorney reprimanded her. "There is more."

Her smile widened but soon fell away as Lee said "From that money, I took what I needed to repair the damage you caused ELQ with your greed and/ or incompetence each time you failed in your job. Last time I looked, there was about fifteen million left, but this latest, with the condoms and the fake pills, you owe me another forty. So there will be nothing left to you."

As she blinked, stunned and not believing what she was hearing, Lee continued. "The lawsuits came to fifty-five million, minus the one from your son's ex-girlfriend. She wanted something else in exchange. So Tracy, I leave you one thing, my chair, you once told me you would sit in it behind my desk... well here is your big chance. Lee has made arrangements for it be turned over at the end of this meeting. Oh, and Tracy, you're fired."

AJ hid his chuckle as the second biggest rival for the family business was out on her ass. "To my son Alan, you have been a disappointment to me from the beginning, first with your choice of wife. Monica when you could have had any women, then with your affair and refusal to divorce Monica when that woman was pregnant with your kid. So Monica had breast cancer, all you had to do was divorce her, marry Susan then divorce Susan so that you could give me a legitimate heir, yet you couldn't even do that, could you."

More than a few head turned, expecting Jason to be pissed but instead he looked at his biological father with new insight and said "Well at least you were man enough to stand by your wife."

What his father said didn't even phase the doctor, but his son's comment and the disdain with which he had said it, hurt badly. He watched silently as Elizabeth's hand rested on his son's arm and how Jason relaxed then gave her a smile of thanks.

"Now, I set up the same fund for you that I did for Tracy, yours is intact minus the money I outlaid to kept GH from being completely in Cassadine hands, do with it what you will. At some point, make your sister apologize, the Jones sisters now own your shares of the hospital as a result of the faulty drugs killer mother and the damage it caused her family."

Lee finished reading that part before going on "Ned, your mother named you after me in the hopes that I would feel some sort of bond to you. I never did, you have worked hard for the company, but you have never had the ability or the talent lead ELQ into the future. That is why I am leaving you half the media division, they are the only division that showed a profit when you ran it."

Tracy was howling in anger, if she didn't inherit, at least her son should have. "Some day, when your brother cuts the apron strings to his mother, he will receive the other half of the company."

AJ was grinning, he was going to get to hear Jason be torn to shreds and receive ELQ on a silver platter, there was no one left to inherit it. "To my grandson AJ, I am putting you in charge of my other company."

The uproar from Tracy's side of the table was huge, Ned furious that AJ who was a screw-up now had everything because he had a son.

When Lee stood and hit the table with the gavel he finally got their attention. "I am not finished."

AJ couldn't help thinking smugly, keep talking old man while Jason was growing bored. "Years ago, ELQ was in some trouble, I bought out a small company with what little I had left; renamed it and streamlined the production, that was the start of our return to wealth, good luck, Lila's Pickles is in good hands."

Ned laughed, he had to. The look on his cousin's face was priceless. Meanwhile, his mother was snapping "What about ELQ?"

"I am going in order of how Edward arranged this." snapped the attorney, his nerves now in tatters. "To Brooklynn, I set you up with a trust fund for college, as long as you study business or medicine. Anything else, you are on your own."

Shrugging, she just sat back and enjoyed the show while Dillon finally wandered in and asked "What did I miss?"

Sitting down in haste as ordered, he got an earful as Emily received a large lump sum of money then you could hear a pin drop in the room as Lee said "In regards to the corporation now known as ELQ, none of my heirs are capable of running it. Those that have tried, ran it into the ground. So I intend to sell my shares in the company to Jason Morgan---"

There was bedlam, then Jason stood heading towards the door but he was stopped by a very elderly woman in a wheelchair. "Move."

"No, there is more. Lee came to see me this morning. Please listen." she said then turned to her family, glaring at them until they were silent, then she said to the attorney, "Please continue."

"To my family, he is going to take it anyway, this way I am insuring my Lila's future plans. If any of you had shown yourselves to have his business acumen, I wouldn't have to sell my stock to the devil. You created this mess and I won't let Lila suffer because of your incompetence."

When Tracy threatened to sue, and AJ shouted that he would overturn the will, Lee looked around at them and said "If you do, Jason is given the stock. Free and clear."

Elizabeth held Jason's hand as they just walked past them, ignoring the insults hurled by some and the smiles by Lila and Monica, none of it mattered. Hugging Emily, Elizabeth promised to call her later, then they quickly left, stunned at what the old man had done.

"Why? Why did he do it?" asked Jason once they were in the privacy of their own home.

Isadora answered the door and let in Lee Baldwin and Diane before getting her bosses. As they joined them in the study, Lee said "Forgive the intrusion, but there is a letter attached to this. I have to ask that you read it, so that I can disperse with the items Edward left the others."

Diane stated. "He wants to leave, to retire and needs to take care of this first.

"I should care because?" asked Jason mocking the man. "I might have been just six, but I remember you, I recall how you called my mother names in court, how you did nothing as your son harassed my mother. As for the Quartermaines, I don't give a crap. Either way, I end up with the stock, the company and I intend to destroy it."

"Just read the letter, I am an old man, Mr. Morgan. I have regrets about a lot of things but Edward wanted you, he saw something in you that day... but your mother refused to let you return, she never let anyone near you again."

"I am eternally grateful to her for that." said Jason quietly. "Those people today, those selfish, arrogant worthless people, he created them. My mother wanted what was best for me and that wasn't them. Now please, get out of our house."

Lee took the manila envelope out then said "There is a letter from your mother inside. You might want to at least read that at some point."

It was four in the morning, Jason was downstairs unable to sleep as thoughts of his mother kept running through his head. Sitting down, he opened the envelope and let everything in it fall onto the table in front of him. Picking up the file, he saw it was about the custody case that had freed him from Quartermaine insanity, putting it off to the side, he placed Edward's letter on top then opened the yellowed letter in his mother's handwriting.

_Dear Son;_

_I am sitting in a hospital bed having just given birth to you. The maternity nurse just took you back to the nursery and I was imagining your future and knew that I needed to tell you some things about your past someday. So I wrote this letter._

_I am a nurse at a hospital in Port Charles, New York, with my own family being what it is, I am sure by now you have heard about your cousin Heather I made the mistake of falling in love with a man named Mitch Williams. Even now, still loving him, I am aware of his weaknesses._

_Mitch is the DA and he had political aspirations, I know he loves me too, but he loved the idea of being Senator, Governor and even President Williams more. We were lovers for almost two years when he started acting distant. Ten months ago, he came to me and ended our relationship, then the very next morning, in the newspaper, I read the announcement that he was now engaged to Tracy Quartermaine._

_Tracy is the only daughter of businessman Edward Quartermaine, I only knew the man through his other child, your father Alan. Mitch and Tracy were planning to get married, I could have handled it if it was because he had fallen in love with her, but our relationship ended out of greed and power._

_Anyhow, I was at work and Monica, your father's wife was trying to comfort me, not that here was much she could do when she got word that she has breast cancer. She was keeping it a secret, worried how Alan would react. They were growing distant and I was dealing with Tracy's irrational jealousy._

_Alan and I would talk, I was trying to get him to talk to Monica, get her to tell him what was going on when she fell deathly ill and Tracy had just done one of the worst things possible. She decided to make sure that Mitch stayed away from me so she set me up with the newspaper to look like a home wrecker, never mind the damage it did to her own brother and his very sick wife._

_Monica needed a mastectomy, after the surgery, she left town to get away. The press was hounding me, and your father helped me out. Then two days later, Alan received a photo of Monica, created by his father to force him to end his marriage. Edward didn't like Monica's past and had arranged for a handsome young therapist to be photographed with her._

_Your father was destroyed, he loves her very much, has since the moment they meet. I was sick that weekend, and while Alan was helping me, we did something very stupid, something I think we would both regret if it hadn't given me you. _

_You were something I never thought I would have... a child. I was told it wasn't possible so from the moment Dr. Meadows gave me the news, I was ecstatic, Alan on the other hand was shocked. See, a secret that you might know by now, AJ, your half brother isn't his son. Monica was pregnant when they got married, but he loved that little boy no matter what, but he always assumed that he couldn't have children because of a boyhood injury._

_Monica had come home by then, he had learned the truth and would have kicked Edward out but for the fact that Lila would have gone. Your grandmother was and is the most delightful woman I have ever met. Anyhow, we all sat down, with there were some tears, some anger and some shouting but the three of us made a deal to raise you together. Then Edward happened._

_Edward resents that you aren't a legitimate Quartermaine, that we won't do what he wants like Tracy did. Add that Mitch had decided we should be together in spite of his marriage to Tracy and it was a powder keg waiting to blow. I told Mitch no but he kept trying and Tracy of course blamed me._

_Edward tried to bribe me to get rid of you at that point but I gave Alan the check, told him what his father had done. We were at that house, and Tracy shoved me down the stairs. I was bleeding and once at GH asked Dr. Meadows to lie. She told them I miscarried and then I left town. _

_We are sitting here, Anne Logan a nurse friend of mine and I debating, do I let your father know the truth? Do we expose you to the craziness that is that family or do I do something terrible and lie to Alan and Monica, two people who loved you even before you were born, two people who were looking forward to your birth as much as I? _

Jason wiped the tears, his mind whirling from the shock of what he had read. Standing, he went to the back porch, sat down and tried to reconcile what was in this letter with what had gone on and knew, without a doubt that he had to talk to Alan. He had to find out what had gone on, how they had gone from wanting to be a family, a unique family but a family to what had gone down.

Feeling an arm encircling him, he looked up at his wife and said "I have something to tell you."

Shaking her head, she said "Edward, he did all of this?"

"The early stuff, but I need to talk to Alan, find out what happened that day. Why they made my life so miserable when I visited them. Then why they attacked my mother in court like they did." he said quietly before standing without putting her down just as he thought he saw a flash.

"Did you see that?" she asked looking around. "Is it lightning?"

Getting the sick feeling someone at the mansion was photographing them, Jason vowed to have a tall fence erected before the end of the next day.

The Quartermaine residence was abuzz early the next morning as Emily changed her outfit at least twice before leaving to have breakfast with Jasper Jacks. Walking down the stairs, she listened as Ned was telling Brooklynn not to worry that he would take care of her music school payments.

"Ned, a minute... please?" she asked then asked Brooklynn if she had known that Georgie Jones owned a good portion of GH. Seeing her expression, she said "Please, have her call me, there is something she needs to know."

Ned followed his cousin into the study and was amused when she shut the doors tightly before turning on the radio. "Okay, why all the skulk and dagger stuff?"

"I want your opinion on the Jason mess." she said as she tried to keep from making her own clear.

"Grandfather is right, Jason would end with the company either way. I don't have the problems with him personally, I just don't like how ELQ bore the brunt of his attacks. Grandfather spent years playing AJ and me against each other, but we let him. Mother is the one who is going to be a problem." Ned kept quiet his suspicion that Edward had done the same with Jason, just having to use different tactics since he didn't have anything to control Alan's youngest son with.

"Tracy divorced this Mitch Williams years ago, why would she care. I mean Dylan's dad did worse, yet she hates Jason."

"My mother wasn't in love with Paul, she was with Mitch." he said dryly. "Since it fit in with Edward's plans, he helped for once."

Emily looked at her cousin and said sadly. "I think I would prefer knowing that a man wanted me for me, not what I could do for him."

"That is why it galled her so much that Edward had to pay Mitch to marry her then she still couldn't keep him." he said then looking at her said "Once the will is probated, I am leaving for LA. If Dylan ever gets his act together he is going to come with me."

"What about Lulu Spencer and her baby?" she asked stunned.

"There was a DNA tests, it's father was that dockworker, Logan Hayes."

"Wait, I thought she was a virgin, wasn't that what she ran through here announcing when she claimed he took advantage of her?" she asked in shock.

"She is a Spencer, enough said." he sneered before heading out in time to see Tracy screeching when Alice let in Jason Morgan.

Monica looked at her sister-in-law and snapped. "If you don't like the atmosphere of my home, get the hell out and go back to your hotel."

Ned just nodded at his cousin, he could care less about Jason. As far as he was concerned, as long as AJ didn't get ELQ, anyone could have it. Aj would drive the company in the ground trying to ruin his own brother. Leaving the house, planning on visiting his ex-fiancee Alexis, Ned saw his mother leaving, speeding off to god knows where.

Jason stood in the doorway then looked at the man who was coming down the stairs. Handing him the note Susan had written, he stated. "Here, my mother wrote me this, your father apparently stole it."

Alan was in shock, this was the first time in over thirty years his son had come to this house. "Would you like to come in?"

He had intended to use the note as an excuse to find out who had photographed Elizabeth and him the night before, instead he just sneered and said 'No. Emily, when you get a chance, Elizabeth wants to plan a christening for Jake."

On his way to his office, Jason called Spinelli and said. "Find out what member of the Quartermaines has an interest in photography. Then I want you to meet Francis down on the docks before he leaves to head to our remote sites. And one more thing, I want to know the whole story on the Zachara family mystery from last year."

Jason had been busy dealing with the need for Elizabeth, and finding her, so he had missed one of his biggest business partner's lives becoming fodder for the gossip columnists, but he did recall they had almost lost everything to due to a spy and if he was going to partner up with them over the new construction down by the docks, he needed to know what had happened.

Entering GH, he stopped in to see Audrey and saw she was sitting up. "Are you okay?"

The elderly woman looked at the astonished young man and announced. "I am doing better but Dr. Julian wants to keep monitoring me. I invited him to move in with me, but he blushed and ran."

With a soft chuckle, Jason hugged the elderly woman and said "Did you tell him it was going to be strictly platonic?"

She blushed then said "That is a given at my age, Jason. Now how did yesterday go, did that old buzzard give you a hard time?"

"No, that is what is strange and what I wanted to talk to you about." he said then told her about the letter and what it had said. "Wait, Annie?"

"Do you know this Annie?" he asked intently.

"Yes, she was a student of mine, like your mother." she replied. "I need to see Nurse Johnson, she might have stayed in touch with her."

"The scary one with the braids?" he asked unaware she was behind him.

The dark skinned nurse gave a chuckle then seeing Jason turn, said "Thank you for the compliment, now why are you bothering my patient when she is supposed to be getting ready for her shower?"

Audrey explained and Epiphany looked at the handsome blond in the suit and said "I knew both of them, real well. Annie however moved to Africa, she is working with the Red Cross Relief efforts in Chad. Look, you do me a favor and I will find out what I can. I want you to get that pal Zachara of yours to agree to a blood test, he will know what I am talking about."

Jason called Johnny from his phone once he was out of the hospital and grimaced as the younger man told him that it was about Mac Scorpio's disappearance. "His youngest little manipulative brat thinks I killed him." he said coldly.

Wondering about it, Jason hung up and looked at Epiphany. "What is going on and I want the truth."

Leading him to the small chapel, she said "The girls think he killed their father for a supposed affair with his mother. But it wasn't possible. There had to be another reason Maria was found there. Maxie had a plan, but was unable to execute it, her little sister, stepped in to keep Maxie out of jail and now let's just say... I want to put an end to this."

"Why do you care?" he asked staring at the woman.

"When Mac's wife died, I was hired as a part-time nanny. I raised those girls, I know what they are capable of and Maxie isn't my worry. Her sister is." she replied. "Now, as to what is going on with your family. I want you to talk to someone."

"Who?" he asked annoyed.

"Trevor Lansing. He knows the whole truth, buried it because of a court order. That is all you are going to get from me."

Jason went to find the reporter, knowing he hung out at the Metrocourt. Seeing the snake, he sat down across from him and said "Tell me what you know about my parentage."

The silver haired man said "Just once, I wish you would ask the right questions. But for your wife's sake and what she gave me the other day... I will tell you what I know."

Jason just raised his eyebrow waiting for the man to talk. "What you should be asking is why I don't work for the Herald any more. Your grandfather hired me to ruin Susan Moore. He wanted you, she didn't want you involved with the old man. When I refused to do what he wanted, I was fired. I went to work for the Examiner and used it to write the other side of the story."

"90% of the articles, in both papers had it wrong. Your father came to me, wanting to put an end to the mess by telling the truth... too bad Edward stopped the article from being printed by getting an injunction signed by his son in law Mitch who was furious that your mother had turned down his oh so generous offer to be his mistress."

"What did it say?" he asked then heard the same thing his mother had written in her letter but then got a shock. "Wait, what?"

"Yes, it wasn't your father who filed for custody after your visit, it was Edward. He had set the whole mess up. From the heart patient that drew Monica and Alan away. To whispering in your brother's ears, making him jealous to what happened with the maid. She by the way, was dismissed that evening for lying about you."

"What, did she go to the press?" he asked disbelieving.

"No, something about you sitting on the stairs. That when Monica asked, she insisted you wanted to sit there." replied the reporter whose eyes narrowed when he saw Alexis entering the lobby. "Excuse me, I have to take care of something."

Jason drove home to where his wife was painting. Kissing her neck, he asked "Are you up to having dinner out?"

Lifting her brush from the canvas, Elizabeth said "Actually, I had a visit from Ric Lansing today, I need to tell you about."

Wondering what the DA wanted, he waited while his wife cleaned her brushes and then followed her into the study. Once he was seated on the sofa, she joined him with two glasses of whiskey. "Here, you are going to need this."

Once he was comfortable, she said "He had been researching Alexis's background, they have a custody case coming up. There were four possible children born at the hospital; one was her daughter, the other three were also put up for adoption. Two located their biological parents and the last one was me."

Stunned, Jason asked "Does Alexis know?"

"No, but Ric is forwarding the results of his children's DNA tests so that I can find out the truth without Alexis knowing." she said grimly, her mind racing as she tried to figure out who had known about this. "I had some blood drawn this afternoon, we should hear back in a couple of days."

Jason was hoping for her sake it wasn't true. Alexis already resented Elizabeth for Sonny's games and she deserved to have a better parent than the woman who seemed to think that because Sonny had screwed her over it made it okay to hurt innocents.

"Jason, there is more. Ric did some research into Sam. He has an idea of who the mother of Jossalyn Jacks is." she said with some trepidation. "He gave me the files, all I have to do is match the patient number to the name. I called Emily, she is going to check into it for Jax."

"He wants to date her." replied Jason softly. "Wonder how he is going to deal with the biological mother of his little girl though."

After dinner and discussing all they had learned, Jason and Elizabeth were getting Jake ready for bed when Elizabeth heard a frantic knock on the door. Checking out the upper window, she sighed then said "That weird kid who works for you is down there."

Going down the stairs, Jason took Spinelli to his study and then read the reports. Furious, he tersely thanked the younger man then asked "Who else knows about this?"

"No one. Mr. Corelli is on the plane to your bridge construction site and as for the Zachara stuff, only those immediately involved know, sir." he replied before leaving. Elizabeth joined him in the study and he quickly gave her the news.

"Are you going to confront them?" she asked then just warned him to be careful as she read the other file. Hearing her soft chuckle, he looked up, his eyebrows furrowed at her enjoyment. "Sorry, but it reads like a bad romance novel."

"What?" he asked then when she explained, he said "No, John called her a manipulative brat earlier, that doesn't sound like a man in love."

"Jason, if you read between the lines... yes it does." she said then went through the events, one at a time. "My guess is that something went wrong there, because if she did this, like it says she did, it should have ruined the company, no matter how good he is at his job."

Leaving after changing into dark clothes, Jason took the pass codes that Spinelli had given him and slipped up to the mansion. Checking the garage, he saw that AJ, Ned and Emily's cars were missing but that Alan and Monica were home along with the Bentley that the old lady used.

Jason methodically checked all the downstairs rooms on the unused side of the mansion first, then quietly cursed as he realized that it had to have been on the second floor if Elizabeth and he had both clearly seen the flash. Going up the back staircase, he ducked into an empty bedroom when he heard the maid going by.

Once she had gone back down, he headed for the occupied bedrooms, checking them, he found nothing in Emily's, a file regarding ELQ that AJ shouldn't have in his along with one about Tony Jones a doctor at GH; nothing suspicious in Ned's room but a pair of leather pants. Something he really didn't want to think about as he quickly searched the old lady's bedroom, getting the willeys from doing so.

Finally the last bedroom on that side of the house, entering he saw it was Alan and Monica's. Looking at the telescope, he wondered why it was facing down. Looking out it, he swore when he saw the back porch of his house clearly through the lens.

After sitting stunned for a few minutes, Jason went to the closet, searching he found the rest and was ready to implode when the photo album fell from the top of the closet. Opening it, he saw pictures of himself, all with the exact same theme. Then the green album still sitting on the table next to the computer.

Opening it, he froze when he saw the photos of his family. Of him with Elizabeth and Jake as well as the final photo of him carrying his wife back inside. Removing them, he destroyed the camera then took the end lens from the telescope then left a note.

_If you want them back, come and face me you bastard; you know the place._

Leaving, Jason hurried home and checking on Elizabeth saw she had fallen asleep with Jake curled next to her. Carrying their son into bed, he tried to regain control but he was angry.

Someone, more than likely his father had spent years invading his privacy. While that upset him, the photos of the porch with him and his new family were the ones that set Jason into the stratosphere. To know that they had been watching him with Elizabeth, with Jake, it was the last straw.

Monica was on her way up to bed when she saw the light on in their room. "Alan?" she called out as she entered. Seeing the smashed camera and the note, she shook her head no even as she went to the stairs and called out her husband's name. When he rushed up, he took the note and looked around, his eyes closing as he got what it meant.

"I will go and talk to him." he said calmly even as his heart raced. "Have Alice clean this up."

"I am going with you." said his wife only for Alan to kiss her forehead and say "No, I need to do this alone. I think this has gone on long enough. Jason, Jason and I need to talk and I don't want him taking his anger out on you."

Looking at him, she said "We all created this mess together. We should all face the same consequences."

Kissing his wife, Alan said sadly. "No, I could have stepped in, earlier. I should have dealt with father but I didn't."

Lila had arrived, the elevator taking a little longer than her son running up the stairs. "Alan, that is my fault. I kept hoping your father... well that he would go back to being the man that I loved. I just didn't want to face that... well... maybe that was the man I had loved, that that had been there hidden underneath the man who brought me flowers and whispered pretty word to me."

Hugging Lila as they watched Alan head out. The two women sat there, talking quietly, never hearing Tracy return then leave just as quickly after a stop to her mother's room. Taking the pearls with her, she gave a quick grin then followed her brother to the house of his unwanted brat.

Placing them in the study while she watched Alan and Jason whispering loudly on the back porch, she went back to her hotel room and made plans to end this once and for all.

Jason stared at the man who helped create him then with a deliberate grin tossed the book into the small fire pit in the back yard. He saw the look on Alan's face and said "That is all I wanted you to see. Tomorrow, a fence in being built. One that will keep you the hell out of my life. I don't want your explanations, I don't want your excuses, all I want is for you to stay the hell out of my life."

Alan felt his heart breaking as the smell of burnt cellophane and cloth let him know that the only photos he had of his son were going up in smoke. "Please, just listen to me."

"No." Jason said. "I listened, I was in court, remember, you and your father insisted I be there. I was there for every comment, for every insult flung at my mother. I heard you, Alan and I have never forgiven you. Now get the hell out of my house."

Alan was on his way when he felt his heart racing, then pain. Stopping for a minute, he tried to regain his breath, then grabbed his chest as the pain got worse. "J-jase--"

Jason was furious at the older man as he called out to him, turning to tell him to leave, he saw the look on his face then how pale he was and swearing reached out to help him sit down. Calling for an ambulance, he took Alan's pulse then saw his wife rushing in.

When the medics took Alan away, Jason rejected riding with him, instead calling Emily who sounded like she had been asleep. "Jase, what was he doing there?"

"Pissing me off." was her brother's response as he watched Elizabeth dump water on the firepit. He sat there, feeling guilty, trying to remember his anger at the intrusion on his privacy. Holding Elizabeth, he refused to let the tears fall as guilt ate at him.

Two hours later, Emily sounded drained when she called and let Elizabeth know that it had been a mild heart attack and that Alan was doing fine. "They are going to release him tomorrow."

Holding her husband, she talked him into heading up to bed, both of them exhausted from the emotional upheavals of the last few days. They were awoken by the sound of Isadora calling out for Jason. Rushing down the stairs, they saw the police in the hallway and asked "What is going on?"

"Morgan, I know that it is nonsense but Lila Quartermaine's pearls are missing and her daughter is insisting you stole them." replied the Commissioner. "We have a warrant to search the premises since the security cameras show you on the grounds last evening."

"Go ahead, search. I have nothing to hide." replied the businessman who then was amused when the police found the pearls in his study.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" asked the man as he ordered Jason arrested.

"Yes." he said with a laugh while Elizabeth got what was going on. "When we arrive at the station, would you please arrange for the entire Quartermaine family to be there, this has to end. Elizabeth, would you please call Spinelli and arrange for him to come with Diane."

"On my way in." she said then moved in closer to her husband who was wearing only sweats and a t-shirt. "What about shoes?"

Taking the sneakers an officer had dropped, Jason slid his feet into them and then asked the officer if the whole family was aware he had been arrested for this.

"No, just Tracy. She said that she arrived at the house this morning to ask her mother to borrow them, they found them missing and they called the police, actually Mrs. Q didn't want to." he said reluctantly. "But Ned and AJ insisted."

"Okay, thanks for the information." he said his mind going back to the long discussion he had had with Elizabeth the previous evening. She had given him something to think about and now this might add to what she had said as she leaned over to whisper something in his ears.

Arriving at the station, Jason saw the reporters and chuckled at the web Tracy was weaving. Inside, he ignored AJ and Ned's glares and Tracy's accusations, his eyes searching for the woman in the wheelchair. Seeing her, he saw the look on her face then saw Alan looking wan and shaky while Jax came in with Emily.

"Well, do you have anything to say for yourself?" asked AJ standing in front of his brother.

"Just that you might want to move back, I didn't get to brush my teeth this morning." he said rolling his eyes at AJ's self righteous attitude. When his attorney entered along with John and Spinelli, Jason was still looking for his wife who then entered nodding at Jason. Her face was grim, but he got the feeling it was to do with whatever she had planned.

Tracy was feeling smug, her father had wasted years trying to get rid of this piece of trash and it had taken her only days after his death to achieve his one failure.

Diane walked over to the Commissioner and asked to be shown this evidence of Jason stealing these pearls. Seeing the tape, she said "Okay, this shows him on the property, you have the pearls, my client isn't wearing gloves, did you find his fingerprints, his DNA or anything else besides where they were found to indicate he stole them?"

"No. At least not yet." said Raynor.

"What if we can offer you an alternative version of this crime." she said then told Spinelli to hook up to the security company. "By the way, after Dr. Quartermaine left the property, did anyone else visit the house?"

"No, there was a glitch, we have a gap." said Raynor hiding his grin. He was certain Morgan knew who the real thief was he was going to enjoy arresting whoever was using the Port Charles Police Department in their vendetta.

"So we heard." said Diane smugly. "However, there isn't one for the tapes regarding the Morgan property. Here is Jason leaving, then returning." she said showing the tapes, while Tracy started to sidle out of the room only to be stopped by Trevor Lansing.

"Going someplace?" he asked loud enough for the rest of the room to hear, they could hear Ned moan, oh mother what did you do as he looked between her and Jason.

"There is Dr. Quartermaine arriving." said Diane then showed Alan leaving on a gurney. When Tracy was starting to feel smug, she said "We also have tapes on the French Doors. I do believe that is you, Ms. Quartermaine."

Tracy saw Lansing leaving, and shouted at him to stop. "Wait, you want a story, I will give you one. Did you know that my nephew's wife is the daughter of her late husband's lover. That that gold digger killed Sonny for his money."

Trevor laughed and said "I have the real story and it came from a more legitimate source than a bitter old hag who has spent her entire life buying husbands with her daddy's money. Tracy, you are done. There is no one left to dig you out of this hole and if by some miracle you don't go to jail for this mess, you are at least done in this town."

Turning to her mother, Tracy said desperately "I did this for you, you and I both know he will tear ELQ apart, he will destroy our family legacy. He should have never been born, but that bitch... ow!" cried out Tracy when she landed on the floor of the station house. "What the hell, Monica?"

"I have wanted to do that for years, but for Lila's sake, I never have. Get this straight Tracy, the only bitch in this mess was you." said the blond. "You and Edward cost us years with our son, well let me give you a little heads up, you aren't a Quartermaine."

Shocked at what she had said, she looked at Lila horrified at revealing a well kept family secret. Lila knew it was time to end this, moving over, she said sadly to her daughter. "She is telling the truth and I am ashamed to admit it, but you are not my child. When I gave birth, my child was stillborn, your grandfather switched my baby with the child belonging to our maid."

"No, you are lying." she said desperately as she looked at the crowd gathered around. "You have to be, I am a Quartermaine."

"Not by blood you aren't." said Lila who then added. "But I loved you anyhow, just like we loved AJ in spite of his parentage. Yet the only true heir, the only one related to Edward by blood, he loathed, he hurt and he tried to destroy. Jason, Jason is the only biological Quartermaine grandchild in this room."

AJ was swaying as he got what she was saying, looking at his parents, his eyes begged them to tell him that it wasn't true. Then he said with a broken voice "Who?"

"A doctor, his name was Noah Drake. He drank himself into a stupor and dove off the side of the hospital years ago while we were interns." said Alan. "I knew when I married your mother, that you were not my son."

"I-I, I have to get out of here." said AJ as he rushed out of the station his mind whirling at the implications.

Driving aimlessly, he ended up at Carly's mother's brownstone. Knocking, he knew what he had to do. When she opened it, he said "We need to talk."

The Spencer in Bobby wanted to say no, but something stopped her. "Come inside."

As she called out for Tony, AJ didn't stop to think before telling the doctor. "Michael, Michael is your son biologically."

Hearing Bobby gasp, AJ closed his eyes as he got that the red head hadn't known about her husband and her daughter. Looking at her with guilt filled eyes, AJ said. "I am sorry, I didn't come here to hurt you, but I had to tell Michael's father."

Meanwhile at the station, all had gone quiet as Jason was released, looking at Alan he said stiffly. "I am glad you are doing better but even with all I have learned, it really doesn't matter. I just don't see you as my father and I doubt I ever will."

Alan nodded, aware that his inaction in regards to Edward had cost him his son long ago but they were shocked when he stopped in front of Monica and said "While I don't know that I can ever accept you in my life, I know that Emily and Elizabeth are close... for their sake and our son's, I am going to agree to Elizabeth's request to let you get to know Jake, Lila as well."

Leaving, they saw Tracy glaring and Elizabeth walked over to the bitter woman and said "You need to stay away from my family, all of it. Or I will ruin you. I know about all your dirty tricks and I gave them to Trevor... I hope you rot in hell, and you should know... Mitch Lawrence... they filed impeachment papers on him today."

The family wondered what that was about, while Jason and Elizabeth were leaving. Emily looked at Jax and said "Oh, my god, I didn't get a chance to tell them."

Hurrying the new couple split, Jax to deal with what he had to while Emily stopped her friend and brother. "Guess what?"

Seeing their interest she said with a grin. "I am a mom."

Shocked, they looked at her in surprise. "When I was dealing with my cancer, I had some eggs stored, Sam stole them. Jossalyn is my daughter. The numbers, they were mine."

Hugging the obviously excited Emily, Jason asked "What happens now?"

Sitting down on the bench nearby watching the vehicles of the press pulling away she said. 'I liked Jax a few years ago, but I always thought I was too young to be involved with him. Plus, there was my childhood interest in Nik. Anyhow, we have been having coffee, both of us sure it couldn't be more because of … crap, Jason could you keep Jax from killing Sam."

Reading her face, Jason went back inside to keep the Aussie from making a big mistake, instead he got to laugh when he heard what he said to the former con artist. "I did what you recommended. I asked every single woman I saw if she was the mother of my kid."

Rolling her eyes, Sam said "Well, did you find her?" with a smug grin sure that he hadn't.

"Emily Quartermaine." he retorted as her grin fell away. "You, are done. There is nothing left that you have I want."

Sam stood calling for a guard as she cursed at Jax, then seeing Jason said "Rumor is your whore of a wife is Alexis' child, good luck, she loathes Elizabeth more than she loves herself. She is going to make your life a living hell."

Outside, Emily was telling Elizabeth what she had learned in the hospital that day by eavesdropping between Audrey and Lila, they both were aware that it was going to take time but both hoping that the past would slowly become that now that the secrets and lies were all in the open.

Jason and Jax joined them, escorting the women to their cars, before heading to their respective homes. Jason soon had Jake in his mother's arms as they discussed what they had learned.

Resting his head on her shoulder, Jason said "Susan wanted me to forgive, she left me a note when she died. I couldn't. I was too bitter, but now, I am going to try. To forgive, but not to forget. I don't think I will be able to do that."

Looking at his wife and his son, he said "By not forgiving, if I don't, that makes me like Edward. I just... it's going to be difficult, yet when Alan was sitting here, holding his heart... all I could think was I don't want him to die."

Reaching out, she held onto both of his hands while Jake lay between them, "Edward and you are not the same. I was listening to them today and you know what I heard... I heard about a man so desperate for a heir, so desperate for someone to carry on his legacy that he ruined a family, ruined any chance of there being someone to run his company into the future. You, Jason Morgan, aren't like that."

Jason looked into the soft eyes of his wife and said "I almost was, I was so sure that I had to ruin him, yet just like AJ, just like Ned, some part of me wanted his approval. Then that awful will reading, it was like he was proud of me and I felt sick, because that isn't what I want to be. I am going to cut down on business, maybe turn more over to Francis to run. Promote this younger man who wants to do the travel assignments. Let O'Brien handle some of that stuff."

"Will you be happy stepping back?" she asked doubtfully.

"I have urges to become a house husband." he teased then said "Yes, I will still stay active, just no more late nights if I can avoid it, no more travel unless it is someplace you can go with me."

Lifting Jake, he said "I love being a dad, I love the idea of helping with homework, teaching right from wrong, dealing with hormonal teenagers someday. I spent years angry about not having a family... now I do." he said leaning over to kiss her. "I love you, I love our son..."

As Jason and Elizabeth sat there, she enjoyed the quiet then heard a snuffling sound and looked down just as Jake grinned at them then pooped. They looked at one another, then Elizabeth said "Since you love our son so much..."

"Are you saying you don't?" as he held his nose then asked "What did you feed him?"

"Oatmeal." she said then added. "You get the diaper and wipes, I will carry him to the bathroom. We do this together."

Grinning as they gave Jake a bath then dressed their little boy, he looked around and said "We, we are a family."

Six months later, Jason came home from the office to see the house a mess, "Elizabeth?"

His wife entered the room, glaring at him as she rubbed her back. "Whose idea was it get a puppy?"

When the little cocker spaniel rushed into the room followed by the crawling nine month old, Jason couldn't help laughing as his pregnant wife made a swipe to catch Jake who just giggled as he escaped from his mother.

"It's not funny, Jason. We have to be at the Zachara house in an hour and I haven't even showered yet." she grumbled then laughed herself when the puppy peed on his shoes. "I am going to kill your sister."

Jason lifted the little dog who looked at him with big brown eyes and said "What do you say about getting Joss a pony for her next birthday, I can tell her that it is so small so she can keep it in the penthouse."

Laughing, Elizabeth said "Better yet, for a wedding gift next week." Jax and Emily had been slowly working out their few issues, including her fears that she wasn't capable of keeping a man's attention after her failed engagement to Nik. With a wicked smirk, Elizabeth said "Nik called the Quartermaines, Courtney is pregnant for real this time."

"Whose the father?" he snarked as he leashed up the dog and picked up Jake who had chased after his dog. "I will be right back in, you get your shower."

Walking the dog in the back yard while Jake was placed in his outside playpen, Jason looked at the fence, he had put one up after finding out about his peeping Tom problem but it was only a six footer.

He stayed away from the Quartermaines, their only interaction was between Elizabeth and the family. AJ had fled with Michael when Bobby and Tony's marriage combusted over his sleeping with Carly. The Quartermaine heir was living in Florida running the pickle company.

Ned had left for LA while Dillon was still around, worried about Lulu whose family had lost everything after Lucky had made a desperate attempt to revive the family fortunes and the boat with the cargo sank in the Port Charles harbor.

Heading in, he handed Jake off to Isadora and hurried up the stairs to catch his wife doing one of his favorite things. Standing in the doorway, he watched as she rubbed lotion on her legs while talking to her belly.

"You know, pumpkin, I wish you daddy was the one carrying you. He finds it so amusing when I have a hard time doing things, or rolling out of bed, I wonder how he would like it."

"Depends..." he said as she whirled around. "On if you would be there to help me up."

Walking over, she kissed him then said "I will always be there."

Showering and changing, he saw her tossing his socks in the wastebasket as he dressed for the party. "I think we should stay right here, tonight."

Turning her back so he could zip her up, she felt him lift her hair and kiss the back of her nape. Moaning softly she took his hands and clasped them around her stomach then leaning back said "If we go tonight, after this we can claim I am too far along to be out."

Turning her, he said "That sounds like a great idea, but why can't we start with it tonight." as he kissed his way down her neck, to the hollow between her breasts. As she held his head there for a minute, she thought about it then said "We promised John we would be there."

"I will just tell him something came up." he said with a leer as she laughed. Lifting her, Jason carried her back to bed, soon both were naked and sated as the phone rang. Listening to the head of the Zachara corporation, Jason told him just that, only for the dark haired man to laugh then Jason hung up.

"What?" she asked as she drew him down to her.

"He pointed out that it was a good think you were already pregnant." Jason was kissing her shoulder as he confessed. "I was thinking, I should keep you that way..."

Lifting her head, she giggled then said "Jason, you already are. Think, I got pregnant at the studio, then our first time here."

Rolling her onto her back, Jason kissed her stomach, then left a trail of kisses on his way up to her face. Leaning down, he said "Six sounds like a nice round number."

"To me too." she said as she lost herself in his arms, feeling assured in his love as they slowly went back to their own little piece of heaven.

The end.


End file.
